Faster state transitioning for continuous adjustable 3DEEPS filer spectacles using multi-layered variable tint materials

ABSTRACT

An electrically controlled spectacle includes a spectacle frame and optoelectronic lenses housed in the frame. The lenses include a left lens and a right lens, each of the optoelectrical lenses having a plurality of states, wherein the state of the left lens is independent of the state of the right lens. The electrically controlled spectacle also includes a control unit housed in the frame, the control unit being adapted to control the state of each of the lenses independently.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/907,428 filed Jun. 22, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,951,881 which is aContinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/008,910, filed Jun.14, 2018 now U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/742,965 which is a Continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/907,614, filed Feb. 28, 2018, nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,021,380, which is a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/683,623, filed Aug. 22, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No.9,948,922, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/606,850, filed May 26, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,781,408, which is(I) a Continuation-In-Part application of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/217,612, filed Jul. 22, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,699,444, whichis a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/850,750, filedSep. 10, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,426,452, which is a Continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/451,048, filed Aug. 4, 2014, nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,167,235, which is a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/155,505, filed Jan. 15, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No.8,864,304, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/746,393, filed Jan. 22, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,657,438, which is aContinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/938,495, filed Nov.3, 2010, which is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/555,545, filed Sep. 8, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,850,304, which is aContinuation-In-Part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/274,752, filed Nov. 20, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,604,348, which is aContinuation-In-Part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/928,152, filed Oct. 30, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,508,485, which is(a) a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/373,702, filed Mar. 10, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,405,801, which (1)is a nonprovisional of and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/661,847 filed Mar. 15, 2005, and (2) is aContinuation-In-Part application of U.S. application Ser. No.10/054,607, filed Jan. 22, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,030,902, which is anonprovisional of and claims priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 60/263,498 filed Jan. 23, 2001; and (b) a Continuation-In-Part ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/372,723, filed Mar. 10, 2006, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,522,257, which (1) is a nonprovisional of and claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/664,369, filed Mar. 23,2005, and (2) is a Continuation-In-Part application of U.S. applicationSer. No. 10/054,607, filed Jan. 22, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,030,902,which is a nonprovisional of and claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/263,498 filed Jan. 23, 2001; (II) aContinuation-In-Part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/850,629, filed Sep. 10, 2015, which is a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/268,423, filed May 2, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No.9,167,177, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/168,493, filed Jun. 24, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,750,382, which is(a) a Continuation-In-Part application of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/938,495, filed Nov. 3, 2010, the priority information for whichis recited above, (b) a Continuation-In-Part application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/555,482, filed Sep. 8, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No.7,976,159, which is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/274,752, filed Nov. 20, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,604,348, thepriority information for which is recited above, and (c) anonprovisional of and claims priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 61/398,981, filed Jul. 2, 2010; and (III) a Continuation-In-Partapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/212,114, filed Jul.15, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,716,874, which is a Divisional of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/566,205, filed Dec. 10, 2014, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,426,442, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/333,266, filed Jul. 16, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,941,919,which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/149,293,filed Jan. 7, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,913,319, which is a Continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/632,333, filed Oct. 1, 2012, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,657,439, which is a Continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/151,736, filed Jun. 2, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.8,303,112, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/555,482, filed Sep. 8, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,976,159, thepriority information for which is recited above, the entire contents ofeach of which are herein incorporated by reference for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of motion pictures and to a systemcalled 3Deeps that will allow almost any motion picture filmed in 2D(single image) to be viewed with the visual effect of 3-dimensions whenviewed through 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. More specifically, theinvention relates to (i) the presentation of motion pictures and to theuse of multiple layers of electronically controlled variable tintmaterials to fabricate the right and left lenses of the 3Deeps FilterSpectacle to achieve faster transition times than may be achieved by theuse of only a single layer, (ii) various means by which a motion vectorand/or luminance measure that are associated with frames of the moviecan be used to select an optimal optical density for the neutral densitylens of the 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, and (iii) visual art and, moreparticularly, to systems, apparatus, and methods for producing anappearance of continuous movement using a finite number of images, i.e.,as few as two images.

BACKGROUND

This invention is, in part, directed to Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter spectacles for viewing 2D movies as 3D movies. 3Deeps FilterSpectacles provide a system by which ordinary 2-dimensional motionpictures can be viewed in part as a 3-dimensional motion pictures. Theyhowever were a sub-optimal solution. In the presence of screen motion,they only developed 3D from a 2D movie by a difference in opticaldensity between the right and left lens, but did not describe anyobjective optimal target for those optical densities. Neither did theprevious version or 3Deeps Filter spectacles address optimization of thespectacles to account for the materials from which the lenses arefabricated.

3Deeps Filter Spectacles that incorporate such double optimization arecalled Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. Previously,related patent applications for Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filterspectacles have been disclosed that use electronically controlledvariable tint materials for fabrication of the right and left lenses ofthe viewing spectacles. Generally, electronically controlled variabletint materials change the light transmission properties of the materialin response to voltage applied across the material, and include but arenot limited to electrochromic devices, suspended particle devices, andpolymer dispersed liquid crystal devices. Such material provides preciseelectronic control over the amount of light transmission.

3Deeps spectacles adjust the optical properties so that the left andright lenses of the 3Deeps spectacles take on one of 3 states insynchronization to lateral motion occurring within the movie; aclear-clear state (clear left lens and clear right lens) when there isno lateral motion in successive frames of the motion picture; aclear-darkened state when there is left-to-right lateral motion insuccessive frame of the motion picture; and, a darkened-clear state whenthere is right-to-left lateral motion in successive frames of the motionpicture.

We note that clear is a relative term and even clear glass will block asmall percentage of light transmission. A clear lens is then one thattransmits almost all light through the material.

Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter spectacles are improved 3Deepsspectacles in that the darkened state continuously changes to take anoptical density to provide the maximum Pulfrich stereoscopic 3D illusionoptimized for (a) the speed and direction of lateral motion, and (b) thetransition time of the electrochromic material from which the lenses arefabricated. Thus, Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles doublyoptimize 3Deeps Filter Spectacles to maximize the target opticaldensities of the lenses, and to account for the lens material. Doubleoptimization of the 3Deeps Filter Spectacles has substantial benefitsand Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles solves substantialproblems that 3Deeps Filter Spectacles could not address.

One problem addressed by this invention is that of slow transition timewhen transitioning between different optical densities of the lenses ofthe Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter spectacles. Optimal control ofContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter spectacles is achieved by adjustingthe right- and left-lenses to the optimal optical density synchronizedto maximize the 3D effect of the Pulfrich illusion between frames of themotion picture with respect to the transition time properties of theelectrochromic material. As an example, a movie that is shown on a 100Hz digital TV may require as many as 100 different optical densitycontrolled lens transitions per second to optimally synchronize to thespeed and direction of lateral motion in the motion picture. Most oftenthe transitions in synchronization to the movie are small minoradjustments to the optical density of the lens that can be accomplishedin the allotted time. A problem arises when 3Deeps Filter spectacles arefabricated from electronically controlled variable tint materials thatare incapable of the fast transition times that are sometimes requiredas for instance between scene changes. While electronically controlledvariable tint materials may be able to achieve fast transitions from oneoptical density state to another optical density state that are near orclose to each other, it may be incapable of transition between opticaldensity states that are far apart. However, faster transition timesusing any electronically controlled variable tint material can beachieved by the simple expedient of using 2 or more layers—ormulti-layers—of such material. Using multiple layers of material doesresult in a darker clear state, but the difference is minimal and barelyperceptible, so the tradeoff between a slightly darker clear state andfaster transition time is considered and warranted.

Another problem relates to the cycle life (number of clear-dark cyclesbefore failure) of some optoelectronic materials that may be limited.The cycle life may be increased by using multiple layers ofoptoelectronic materials since the electric potential applied to thematerial to achieve a target optical density will be for a shorterperiod of time.

Another problem addressed by an alternate embodiment of this inventionis that different methods of 3D require distinct viewing spectacles.However, with electronically controlled viewing spectacles, a singleviewing spectacle can be switch selectable for different opticaleffects. For instance, to view a 3D movie that uses the anaglyph methodto achieve 3D stereoscopy requires use of a different pair of spectacles(red-blue lenses) than that used for 3Deeps viewing. Other preferredembodiments of the invention relate to multi-use of the spectacles. Theuse of multi-layers of electronically controlled variable tint materialswhere different layers relate to different viewing methods, allow asingle spectacle to be selectable to achieve different optical effects.For instance, while one or more layers of electronically controlledvariable tint materials may be used for Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter spectacles, another layer of materials may be used for anaglyph3D spectacles. This would extend the use of a single pair spectacles soit can be selectively used for either Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter spectacles viewing of 2D filmed movies or for anaglyph viewing of3D filmed movies. It would also allow switching within any motionpicture between 2D and 3D for a specific method, and/or switching withinany motion picture between different methods of 3D. Till now a 3D motionpicture may have been filmed in its entirety as anaglyph. With thisinvention the motion picture could have been filmed in part 2D with themulti-layer specs then set by signalization to a clear-clear state, andanother part of the motion picture could have been filmed in 3D anaglyphwith the multi-layer spectacles then set by signalization to a red-bluestate. In another embodiment the picture may be filmed in part in 2D and3D anaglyph, and shown to viewers in 2D, 3D using 3Deeps spectacle, and3D anaglyph with the spectacles set accordingly.

Movies are generally made from a series of single, non-repetitivepictures which are viewed at a speed that provides the viewer with theappearance of continuous movement. These series of single pictures arepositioned in adjacent picture frames, in sequential order, whereinadjacent pictures are substantially similar to each other and vary onlyslightly from each other. Usually, movies are created using moviecameras, which capture the actual movement of the object; with animatedmovies, a series of individual pictures or cells are created, usually byhand or computer, and assembled in sequential order where adjacentpictures of a scene are substantially similar to each other and varyonly slightly. Standard film projection is 24 frames per second,American video standard NTSC is 30 f.p.s.

The appearance of continuous movement, using only two substantiallysimilar pictures, has been accomplished in live performance bysimultaneous projection of both images onto a screen, wherein onepicture may be slightly off-set from the other picture as they appear onthe screen, and by rotating a two-bladed propeller, wherein thepropeller blades are set off from one another by 180 degrees, in frontof and between the two projectors such that the two images are made toboth alternate and overlap in their appearances, with both images inturn alternating with an interval of complete darkness onscreen whenboth projections are blocked by the spinning propeller. A viewer, usingno special spectacles or visual aids, perceives a scene of limitedaction (with a degree of illusionary depth) that can be sustainedindefinitely in any chosen direction: an evolving yet limited actionappears to be happening continually without visiblereturn-and-start-over repetition. Thus the viewer sees a visual illusionof an event impossible in actual life. Similarly, the manner in whichthings appear in depth are likely to be at odds, often extremely so,with the spatial character of the original photographed scene. Further,the character of movement and of depth has been made malleable in thehands of the projectionist during performance (so much so that suchfilm-performance has been likened to a form of puppetry); the physicalshifting of one of the two projections changes the visual relationshipbetween them and thereby the character of the screen event produced.Similarly, small changes during performance in speed, placement anddirection of propeller spin will cause radical changes in the visualevent produced onscreen.

Other visual arts which relate to the present invention are the Pulfrichfilter. For one program, titled Bitemporal Vision: The Sea, viewers wereinvited to place a Pulfrich light-reducing filter before one eye to bothenhance and transform the already apparent depth character of thepresentation.

Limited to presentation in live performance, such unique visualphenomena as described has been transient theater. Attempts to capturethe phenomena by way of video-camera recording of the screen-image havebeen disappointingly compromised, so that—in over 25 years of suchpresentation (of so-called Nervous System Film Performances) no attempthas been made to commercialize such recordings.

In addition, a number of products and methods have been developed forproducing 3-D images from two-dimensional images. Steenblik in U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,597,634, 4,717,239, and 5,002,364 teaches the use of diffractiveoptical elements with double prisms, one prism being made of alow-dispersion prism and the second prism being made of ahigh-dispersion prism. Takahaski, et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,344teaches the use of spectacles based on the Pulfrich effect with lightfiltering lens of different optical densities. Beard in U.S. Pat. No.4,705,371 teaches the use of gradients of optical densities going fromthe center to the periphery of a lens.

Hirano in U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,951 teaches the use of spectacles withlenses that can rotate about a vertical axis to create stereoscopiceffects. Laden in U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,339 teaches the use of spectacleswith opaque temples and an opaque rectangular frame, except fortriangular shaped lenses positioned in the frame adjacent to anosepiece.

Davino, U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,968, 3-Dimensional Movie and TelevisionViewer, teaches an opaque frame that can be placed in front of a user'seyes like a pair of glasses for 3-D viewing to take advantage of thePulfrich effect. The frame has two rectangular apertures. Theseapertures are spaced to be in directly in front of the user's eyes. Oneaperture is empty; the other opening has plural vertical strips,preferably two, made of polyester film. Between the outer edge of theaperture and the outermost vertical strip is diffractive opticalmaterial. The surface of the strips facing away from the person's facemight be painted black. Images from a television set or a movie screenappear three dimensional when viewed through the frame with both eyesopen.

Dones, U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,988, Personal Viewing Video Device, teaches apersonal video viewing device which allows the simultaneous viewing of astereoscopic external image as well as a monoscopic electronic image.This is accomplished using two optical systems which share particularcomponents. The relative intensity of both images may be adjusted usinga three-iris system where each iris may be a mechanical diaphragm, anelectronically controlled liquid crystal device, or a pair of polarizeddiscs whose relative rotational orientation controls the transmissivityof the disc pair.

Beard in U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,898 teaches a method for creating a 3-Dtelevision effect in which a scene is recorded with a relative lateralmovement between the scene and the recording mechanism. The recording isplayed back and viewed through a pair of viewer glasses in which one ofthe lenses is darker and has a spectral transmission characterized by areduced transmissivity in at least one, and preferably all three, of thetelevision's peak radiant energy wavebands. The lighter lens, on theother hand, has a spectral transmission characterized by a reducedtransmissivity at wavelengths removed from the television energy peaks.The result is a substantially greater effective optical densitydifferential between the two lenses when viewing television than innormal ambient light. This produces a very noticeable 3-D effect fortelevision scenes with the proper movement, while avoiding the prior“dead eye” effect associated with too great a density differential inordinary light. Further enhancement is achieved by providing the darkerlens with a higher transmissivity in the blue and red regions than inthe yellow or green regions.

Other patents deal with image processing to measure motion in a movingpicture and include Iue U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,415, Nagaya U.S. Pat. No.5,721,692 and Gerard De Haan U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,245.

Iue in U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,415 teaches a method of convertingtwo-dimensional images into three-dimensional images. A right eye imagesignal and a left eye image signal between which there is relatively atime difference or a luminance difference are produced from atwo-dimensional image signal, thereby to convert two-dimensional imagesinto three-dimensional images.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,692, Nagaya et al present a “Moving ObjectDetection Apparatus”. In that disclosed invention, a moving object isdetected from a movie that has a complicated background. In order todetect the moving object, there is provided a unit for inputting themovie, a display unit for outputting a processed result, a unit forjudging an interval which is predicted to belong to the background aspart of a pixel region in the movie, a unit for extracting the movingobject and a unit for calculating the moving direction and velocity ofthe moving object. Even with a complicated background in which not onlya change in illumination condition, but also a change in structureoccurs, the presence of the structure change of the background can bedetermined so as to detect and/or extract the moving object in realtime. Additionally, the moving direction and velocity of the movingobject can be determined.

De Haan U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,245 teaches a method of estimating motion inwhich at least two motion parameter sets are generated from input videodata. A motion parameter set is a set of parameters describing motion inan image, and by means of which motion can be calculated.

Visual effects are important in motion pictures and have the potentialto expand the viewing enjoyment of moviegoers. For example, the movementeffect “Bullet Time” utilized in the movie “The Matrix” was critical tothe appeal of the movie.

Visual effects for 3-dimensional motion pictures include such motionpictures as “Charge at Feather River”, starring Guy Madison. The VincentPrice movie “House of Wax” was originally released as a 3-D thriller.The 3-D movie fad of the early to mid-1950s however soon faded due tocomplexity of the technologies and potential for impropersynchronization, and misalignment of left and right eye images asdelivered to the viewer.

TV 3-D motion pictures have been attempted from time-to-time. TheatricSupport produced the first TV Pulfrich event in 1989 for FoxTelevision—“The Rose Parade in 3D Live.” In order to sustain theillusion of realistic depth these 3-D Pulfrich effect TV shows requireall foreground screen action to move in one consistent direction,matched to the fixed light-diminishing lens of special spectaclesprovided to viewers for each broadcast. This enormous constraint (forall screen action to proceed in one direction) placed on the producersof the motion picture is due to the realistic expectation that viewerswere not going to invert their spectacles so as to switch thelight-diminishing filter from one eye to another for each change inscreen-action direction. For the great majority of viewers thelimitation of spectacles with a fixed filter, either left or right,meant the 3D effect would be available only with movies producedspecifically for that viewing spectacles design.

With the exception of Sony I-max 3-D presentations, which requirespecial theater/screening facilities unique to the requirements of I-Maxtechnology, 3-dimensional motion pictures remain a novelty. Despite thewide appeal to viewers, the difficulties and burden on motion pictureproducers, distributors, TV networks, motion picture theaters, and onthe viewers has been a barrier to their wide scale acceptance. Among theproblems and constraints involving the production, projection, andviewing of 3-dimensional motion pictures are:

Production: The commonly used anaglyph 3-dimensional movie systemsrequire special cameras that have dual lenses, and capture 2-images oneach frame. To have a version of the motion picture that can be viewedwithout special glasses requires that a separate version of the motionpicture be shot with a regular camera so there is only one image pervideo frame and not simply the selection of one or the otherperspective. Similarly, IMAX and shutter glass systems require specialcameras and processing with separate versions of the motion picture for2D and 3D viewing. Filming movies in 3D add as much as $10 milliondollars to production costs, it has been reported.

Projection: Some 3-dimensional systems require the synchronization andprojection by more than 2 cameras in order to achieve the effect.“Hitachi, Ltd has developed a 3D display called Transpost 3D which canbe viewed from any direction without wearing special glasses, andutilize twelve cameras and rotating display that allow Transpost 3Dmotion pictures that can be seen to appear as floating in the display.The principle of the device is that 2D images of an object taken from 24different directions are projected to a special rotating screen. On alarge scale this is commercially unfeasible, as special effects in amotion picture must be able to be projected with standard projectionequipment in a movie theater, TV or other broadcast equipment.

Viewing: As a commercial requirement, any special effect in a motionpicture must allow viewing on a movie screen, and other viewing venuessuch as TV, DVD, VCR, PC computer screen, plasma and LCD displays. Fromthe viewer's vantage, 3-dimensional glasses, whether anaglyph glasses orPulfrich glasses, which are used in the majority of 3-dimensionalefforts, if poorly made or worn incorrectly are uncomfortable and maycause undue eyestrain or headaches. Experiencing such headache motivatespeople to shy away from 3-D motion pictures.

Because of these and other problems, 3-dimensional motion pictures havenever been more than a novelty. The inconvenience and cost factors forproducers, special equipment projection requirements, and viewerdiscomfort raise a sufficiently high barrier to 3-dimensional motionpictures that they are rarely produced. One object of this invention isto overcome these problems and constraints.

The Human Eye and Depth Perception

The human eye can sense and interpret electromagnetic radiation in thewavelengths of about 400 to 700 nanometers—visual light to the humaneye. Many electronic instruments, such as camcorders, cell phonecameras, etc., are also able to sense and record electromagneticradiation in the band of wavelengths 400-700 nanometer.

To facilitate vision, the human eye does considerable image processingbefore the brain gets the image.

When light ceases to stimulate the eyes photoreceptors, thephotoreceptors continue to send signals, or fire for a fraction of asecond afterwards. This is called “persistence of vision”, and is key tothe invention of motion pictures that allows humans to perceive rapidlychanging and flickering individual images as a continuous moving image.

The photoreceptors of the human eye do not “fire” instantaneously. Lowlight conditions can take a few thousands of a second longer to transmitsignals than under higher light conditions. Causing less light to bereceived in one eye than another eye, thus causing the photoreceptors ofthe right and left eyes to transmit their “pictures” at slightlydifferent times, explains in part the Pulfrich 3-D illusion, which isutilized in the invention of the 3Deeps system. This is also cause ofwhat is commonly referred to as “night vision”.

Once signals are sent to the eyes, the brain processes the dual imagestogether (images received from the left and right eye) presenting theworld to the mind in 3-dimensions or with “Depth Perception”. This isaccomplished by several means that have been long understood.

Stereopsis is the primary means of depth perception and requires sightfrom both eyes. The brain processes the dual images, and triangulatesthe two images received from the left and right eye, sensing how farinward the eyes are pointing to focus the object.

Perspective uses information that if two objects are the same size, butone object is closer to the viewer than the other object, then thecloser object will appear larger. The brain processes this informationto provide clues that are interpreted as perceived depth.

Motion parallax is the effect that the further objects are away from us,the slower they move across our field of vision. The brain processesmotion parallax information to provide clues that are interpreted asperceived depth.

Shadows provide another clue to the human brain, which can be perceivedas depth. Shading objects, to create the illusions of shadows and thusdepth, is widely used in illustration to imply depth without actuallypenetrating (perceptually) the 2-D screen surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method has now been discovered for originating visual illusions offigures and spaces in continuous movement in any chosen direction usinga finite number of pictures (as few as two pictures) that can bepermanently stored and copied and displayed on motion picture film orelectronic media. The method of the present invention entails repetitivepresentation to the viewer of at least two substantially similar imagepictures alternating with a third visual interval or bridging picturethat is substantially dissimilar to the other substantially similarpictures in order to create the appearance of continuous, seamless andsustained directional movement.

Specifically, two or more image pictures are repetitively presentedtogether with a bridging interval (a bridging picture) which ispreferably a solid black or other solid-colored picture, but may also bea strongly contrasting image-picture readily distinguished from the twoor more pictures that are substantially similar. In electronic media,the bridge-picture may simply be a timed unlit-screen pause betweenserial re-appearances of the two or more similar image pictures. Therolling movements of pictorial forms thus created (figures thatuncannily stay in place while maintaining directional movement, and donot move into a further phase of movement until replaced by a new set ofrotating units) is referred to as Eternalisms, and the process ofcomposing such visual events is referred to as Eternalizing.

The three film or video picture-units are arranged to strike the eyessequentially. For example, where A and B are the image pictures and C isthe bridging picture, the picture units are arranged (A, B, C). Thisarrangement is then repeated any number of times, as a continuing loop.The view of this continuing loop allows for the perception of aperceptual combining and sustained movement of image pictures (A, B).Naturally, if this loop is placed on a film strip, then it is arrangedand repeated in a linear manner (A, B, C, A, B, C, A, B, C, A, B, C,etc.). The repetition of the sequence provides an illusion of continuousmovement of the image pictures (A, B); with bridging picture (C),preferably in the form of a neutral or black frame, not consciouslynoticed by the viewer at all, except perhaps as a subtle flicker.

A more fluid or natural illusion of continuous movement from a finitenumber of image pictures is provided by using two of each of the threepictures and repeating the cycle of the pairs sequentially, or byblending adjacent pictures together on an additional picture-frame andplacing the blended picture between the pictures in sequential order.The two image pictures (A, B) are now blended with each other to produce(A/B); the two image pictures are also blended with the bridging pictureto produce (C/A and B/C), and then all pictures repeat in a seriesstarting with the bridging picture (C, C/A, A, A/B, B, B/C) each blendedpicture being represented by the two letters with a slash therebetween).This series is repeated a plurality of times to sustain the illusion aslong as desired. Repeating the sequence with additional blended framesprovides more fluid illusion of continuous movement of the (opticallycombined) two image pictures (A, B).

Additionally, various arrangements of the pictures and the blends can beemployed in the present invention and need not be the same each time. Byvarying the order of pictures in the sequence, the beat or rhythm of thepictures is changed. For example, A, B, C can be followed by A, A/B, B,B/C, C which in turn is followed by A, A, A/B, B, B, B, B/C, C, C, C, C,i.e. A, B, C, A, A/B, B, B/C, C, A, A, A/B, B, B, B, B/C, B/C, C, C, C,C, A, B, C, A, etc.

With A and B frames being similar images (such as a pair of normaltwo-eye perspective views of a three-dimensional scene from life), andframe C a contrasting frame (preferably a solid-color picture instead ofan image-picture) relative to A,B, frame C acts as essentially abridge-interval placed between recurrences of A,B. Any color can be usedfor the contrasting frame C: for example, blue, white, green; however,black is usually preferred. The contrasting frame can also be chosenfrom one of the colors in one of the two image pictures. For example, ifone of the image pictures has a large patch of dark blue, then the colorof the contrasting frame, bridging picture, may be dark blue.

Blending of the pictures is accomplished in any manner which allows forboth pictures to be merged in the same picture frame. Thus, the termblending as used in the specification and claims can also be calledsuperimposing, since one picture is merged with the other picture.Blending is done in a conventional manner using conventional equipment,suitably, photographic means, a computer, an optical printer, or a rearscreen projection device. For animated art, the blending can be done byhand as in hand drawing or hand painting. Preferably, a computer isused. Suitable software programs include Adobe Photoshop, Media 100 andAdobe After Affects. Good results have been obtained with Media 100 fromMultimedia Group Data Translations, Inc. of Marlborough, Mass., USA.

When using Media 100, suitable techniques include additive dissolving,cross-dissolving, and dissolving-fast fix and dither dissolving.

In blending the pictures, it is preferred to use 50% of one and 50% ofthe other. However, the blending can be done on a sliding scale, forexample with three blended pictures, a sliding scale of quarters, i.e.75% A/25% B, 50% A/50% B, 25% A/75% B. Good results have been obtainedwith a 50%/50% mix, i.e. a blend of 50% A/50% B.

The two image pictures, A and B, which are visually similar to eachother, are preferably taken from side-by-side frame exposures from amotion picture film of an object or image or that is moving such thatwhen one is overlaid with the other, only a slight difference is notedbetween the two images.

Alternatively, the two image pictures are identical except that one isoff-center from the other. The direction of the off-center, e.g. up,down, right, or left, will determine which direction the series providesthe appearance of movement, e.g. if image picture B is off-center fromimage picture A to the right of A, the series of C, C/A, A, A/B, B, B/Cwill have the appearance of moving from left to right. Likewise, if youreverse the order of appearance then the appearance of movement will beto the left.

More than two image pictures can be used in the invention. Likewise,more than one bridging picture can be used in the present invention. Forexample, four image pictures can be used along with one bridgingpicture. In this case, the series for the four image pictures,designated A, B, D and E, would be: C, A, B, D, E; or a 50/50 blend C,C/A, A, A/B, B, B/D, D, D/E, E, E/C; or side-by-side pairs, C, C, A, A,B, B, D, D, E, E.

The image picture need not fill the picture frame. Furthermore, morethan one image picture can be employed per frame. Thus, the pictureframe can contain a cluster of images and the image or images need notnecessarily filling up the entire frame. Also, only portions of imagepictures can be used to form the image used in the present invention.

Also, image pictures and portions of the image picture can be combinedsuch that the combination is used as the second image picture. Theportion of the image picture is offset from the first image picture whenthey are combined such that there is an appearance of movement. Forexample, a window from image picture A can be moved slightly while thebackground remains the same, the picture with the moved window isdesignated image picture B and the two combined to create the appearanceof the window moving and/or enlarging or shrinking in size. In thiscase, both picture A and picture B are identical except for theplacement of the window in the image picture. The same can also be doneby using an identical background in both image pictures andsuperimposing on both pictures an image which is positioned slightlydifferent in each picture. The image could be a window, as before, of aman walking, for example.

The number of series which are put together can be finite if it is madeon a length of film or infinite if it is set on a continuous cycle orloop wherein it repeats itself.

In accordance with an embodiment, an electrically controlled spectaclefor viewing a video is provided. The electrically controlled spectacleincludes a spectacle frame and optoelectronic lenses housed in theframe. The lenses comprise a left lens and a right lens, each of theoptoelectrical lenses having a plurality of states, wherein the state ofthe left lens is independent of the state of the right lens. Theelectrically controlled spectacle also includes a control unit housed inthe frame, the control unit being adapted to control the state of eachof the lenses independently.

In one embodiment, each of the lenses has a dark state and a lightstate.

In another embodiment, when viewing a video the control unit places boththe left lens and the right lens to a dark state.

In another embodiment, a method for viewing a video is provided. A userwears the electrically controlled spectacle described above, and thewearer is shown a video having dissimilar bridge frames and similarimage frames.

In accordance with another embodiment, a first modified image frame isdetermined by removing a first portion of a selected image frame. Asecond modified image frame different from the first modified imageframe is determined by removing a second portion of the selected imageframe. A third modified image frame different from the first and secondmodified image frames is determined by removing a third portion of theselected image frame. A first bridge image frame different from theselected image frame and different from the first, second, and thirdmodified image frames is determined. A second bridge image framedifferent from the selected image frame, different from the first,second, and third modified image frames, and different from the firstbridge image frame is determined. The first bridge image frame isblended with the first modified image frame, generating a first blendedimage frame. The first bridge image frame is blended with the secondmodified image frame, generating a second blended image frame. The firstbridge image frame is blended with the third modified image frame,generating a third blended image frame. The first blended image frame,the second blended image frame, and the third blended image frame areoverlaid to generate an overlayed image frame. The overlayed image frameand the second bridge image frame are displayed.

In one embodiment, the first bridge image frame comprises a non-solidcolor.

In another embodiment, each of the optoelectronic lenses comprises aplurality of layers of optoelectronic material.

In accordance with another embodiment, a first modified image frame isdetermined by removing a first portion of a selected image frame. Asecond modified image frame different from the first modified imageframe is determined by removing a second portion of the selected imageframe. A third modified image frame is determined by removing a thirdportion of the first modified image frame. A fourth modified image framedifferent from the third modified image frame is determined by removinga fourth portion of the first modified image frame. A fifth modifiedimage frame different from the third and fourth modified image frames isdetermined by removing a fifth portion of the first modified imageframe. A sixth modified image frame is determined by removing a sixthportion of the second modified image frame. A seventh modified imageframe different from the sixth modified image frame is determined byremoving a seventh portion of the second modified image frame. An eighthmodified image frame different from the sixth and seventh modified imageframes is determined by removing an eighth portion of the secondmodified image frame. A first bridge image frame different from thefirst and second modified image frames is determined. A second bridgeimage frame different from the first and second modified image frames,and different from the first bridge image frame is determined. A thirdbridge image frame different from the first and second modified imageframes, and different from the first and second bridge image frames isdetermined. A fourth bridge image frame different from the first andsecond modified image frames, and different from the first, second andthird bridge image frames is determined. A first blended image frame isgenerated by blending the third modified image frame with the firstbridge image frame. A second blended image frame is generated byblending the fourth modified image frame with the second bridge imageframe. A third blended image frame is generated by blending the fifthmodified image frame with the third bridge image frame. The firstblended image frame, the second blended image frame, the third blendedimage frame, and the fourth bridge image frame are displayed. A fourthblended image frame is generated by blending the sixth modified imageframe with the first bridge image frame. A fifth blended image frame isgenerated by blending the seventh modified image frame with the secondbridge image frame. A sixth blended image frame is generated by blendingthe eighth modified image frame with the third bridge image frame. Thefourth blended image frame, the fifth blended image frame, the sixthblended image frame, and the fourth bridge image frame are displayed.

In one embodiment, the fourth bridge image frame is solid white, and thespectacle frame comprises a sensor adapted to receive synchronizationsignals embedded in the video and provide the synchronization signals tothe control unit.

In accordance with another embodiment, a first modified image frame isdetermined by removing a first portion of a selected image frame. Asecond modified image frame different from the first modified imageframe is determined by removing a second portion of the selected imageframe. A third modified image frame different from the first and secondmodified image frames is determined by removing a third portion of theselected image frame. A bridge image frame different from the selectedimage frame and different from the first, second, and third modifiedimage frames is determined. The first modified image frame, the secondmodified image frame, and the third modified image frame are overlaid,to generate an overlayed image frame. The overlayed image frame and thebridge image frame are displayed.

In accordance with another embodiment, a bridge image frame that isdifferent from a first image frame and different from a second imageframe is determined, the first and second image frames being consecutiveimage frames in a video. A first modified image frame is determined byremoving a first portion of the first image frame. A second modifiedimage frame different from the first modified image frame is determinedby removing a second portion of the first image frame. A third modifiedimage frame different from the first and second modified image frames isdetermined by removing a third portion of the first image frame. Thefirst, second, and third modified image frames are overlaid to generatea first overlayed image frame. The first overlayed image frame and thebridge image frame are displayed. A fourth modified image frame isdetermined by removing a fourth portion of the second image frame. Afifth modified image frame different from the fourth modified imageframe is determined by removing a fifth portion of the second imageframe. A sixth modified image frame different from the fourth and fifthmodified image frames is determined by removing a sixth portion of thesecond image frame. The fourth, fifth, and sixth modified image framesare overlaid to generate a second overlayed image frame. The secondoverlayed image frame and the bridge image frame are displayed.

In accordance with another embodiment, a first modified image frame isdetermined by removing a first portion of a selected image frame. Asecond modified image frame different from the first modified imageframe is determined by removing a second portion of the selected imageframe. A third modified image frame different from the first and secondmodified image frames is determined by removing a third portion of theselected image frame. A first bridge image frame different from thefirst, second, and third modified image frames is determined. A secondbridge image frame different from the first, second, and third modifiedimage frames, and different from the first bridge image frame isdetermined. A third bridge image frame different from the first, second,and third modified image frames, and different from the first and secondbridge image frames is determined. A fourth bridge image frame differentfrom the first, second, and third modified image frames, and differentfrom the first, second and third bridge image frames is determined. Thefirst modified image frame is blended with the first bridge image frameto generate a first blended image frame. The second modified image frameis blended with the second bridge image frame to generate a secondblended image frame. The third modified image frame is blended with thethird bridge image frame to generate a third blended image frame. Thefirst blended image frame, the second blended image frame, and the thirdblended image frame are overlaid to generate an overlayed image frame.The overlayed image frame and the fourth bridge image frame aredisplayed.

In one embodiment, the fourth bridge image frame is solid white, and thespectacle frame comprises a sensor adapted to receive synchronizationsignals embedded in the video and provide the synchronization signals tothe control unit.

In accordance with another embodiment, a first modified image frame isdetermined by removing a first portion of a selected image frame. Asecond modified image frame different from the first modified imageframe is determined by removing a second portion of the selected imageframe. A third modified image frame is determined by removing a thirdportion of the first modified image frame. A fourth modified image framedifferent from the third modified image frame is determined by removinga fourth portion of the first modified image frame. A fifth modifiedimage frame different from the third and fourth modified image frames isdetermined by removing a fifth portion of the first modified imageframe. A sixth modified image frame is determined by removing a sixthportion of the second modified image frame. A seventh modified imageframe different from the sixth modified image frame is determined byremoving a seventh portion of the second modified image frame. An eighthmodified image frame different from the sixth and seventh modified imageframes is determined by removing an eighth portion of the secondmodified image frame. A first bridge image frame different from thefirst, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eight modifiedimage frames is determined. A second bridge image frame different fromthe first bridge image frame and different from the first, second,third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eight modified image frames isdetermined. The first bridge image frame is blended with the thirdmodified image frame to generate a first blended image frame. The firstbridge image frame is blended with the fourth modified image frame togenerate a second blended image frame. The first bridge image frame isblended with the fifth modified image frame to generate a third blendedimage frame. The first blended image frame, the second blended imageframe, and the third blended image frame are overlaid to generate afirst overlayed image frame. The first overlayed image frame and thesecond bridge image frame are displayed. The first bridge image frame isblended with the sixth modified image frame to generate a fourth blendedimage frame. The first bridge image frame is blended with the seventhmodified image frame to generate a fifth blended image frame. The firstbridge image frame is blended with the eighth modified image frame togenerate a sixth blended image frame. The fourth blended image frame,the fifth blended image frame, and the sixth blended image frame areoverlaid to generate a second overlayed image frame. The secondoverlayed image frame and the second bridge image frame are displayed.

In one embodiment, the first bridge image frame comprises a non-solidcolor.

In accordance with another embodiment, one or more of the followingactions may be performed in performing one or more of the methodsdescribed above: generating a blended image frame by blending aplurality of image frames, generating a combined image frame bycombining a plurality of image frames, generating a combined imagesequence by combining a plurality of image sequences, generating one ormore doubled image frames by doubling one or more image frames,generating an overlayed image frame by overlaying a plurality of imageframes, generating a modified image frame by removing a portion of animage frame, repeating one of an image frame or a series of imageframes, generating a sequence of image frames, generating a collagebased on one or more portions of one or more image frames, stitchingtogether one or more portions of one or more image frames, superimposinga first image frame on a second image frame, determining a transitionalframe, inserting and/or lifting a portion of a first image frame into asecond image frame, reshaping a portion of an image frame, andrelocating a portion of an image frame.

In accordance with an embodiment, an apparatus includes a storageadapted to store one or more image frames, and a processor. Theprocessor is adapted to determine a first modified image frame byremoving a first portion of a selected image frame, determine a secondmodified image frame different from the first modified image frame byremoving a second portion of the selected image frame, determine a thirdmodified image frame different from the first and second modified imageframes by removing a third portion of the selected image frame,determine a first bridge image frame different from the selected imageframe and different from the first, second, and third modified imageframes, determine a second bridge image frame different from theselected image frame, different from the first, second, and thirdmodified image frames, and different from the first bridge image frame,blend the first bridge image frame with the first modified image frame,generating a first blended image frame, blend the first bridge imageframe with the second modified image frame, generating a second blendedimage frame, blend the first bridge image frame with the third modifiedimage frame, generating a third blended image frame, overlay the firstblended image frame, the second blended image frame, and the thirdblended image frame to generate an overlayed image frame, display theoverlayed image frame, and display the second bridge image frame.

In one embodiment, the apparatus also includes an electricallycontrolled spectacle to be worn by a viewer. The electrically controlledspectacle includes a spectacle frame, optoelectronic lenses housed inthe frame, the lenses comprising a left lens and a right lens, each ofthe optoelectrical lenses having a plurality of states, wherein thestate of the left lens is independent of the state of the right lens,and a control unit housed in the frame, the control unit being adaptedto control the state of each of the lenses independently. Each of thelenses has a dark state and a light state, and when viewing a video thecontrol unit places both the left lens and the right lens to a darkstate.

In another embodiment, the first bridge image frame comprises anon-solid color.

In accordance with another embodiment, an apparatus includes a storageadapted to store one or more image frames, and a processor. Theprocessor is adapted to determine a first modified image frame byremoving a first portion of a selected image frame, determine a secondmodified image frame different from the first modified image frame byremoving a second portion of the selected image frame, determine a thirdmodified image frame by removing a third portion of the first modifiedimage frame, determine a fourth modified image frame different from thethird modified image frame by removing a fourth portion of the firstmodified image frame, determine a fifth modified image frame differentfrom the third and fourth modified image frames by removing a fifthportion of the first modified image frame, determine a sixth modifiedimage frame by removing a sixth portion of the second modified imageframe, determine an seventh modified image frame different from thesixth modified image frame by removing a seventh portion of the secondmodified image frame, determine an eighth modified image frame differentfrom the sixth and seventh modified image frames by removing an eighthportion of the second modified image frame, determine a first bridgeimage frame different from the first, second, third, fourth, fifth,sixth, seventh, and eight modified image frames, determine a secondbridge image frame different from the first bridge image frame anddifferent from the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh,and eight modified image frames, blend the first bridge image frame withthe third modified image frame to generate a first blended image frame,blend the first bridge image frame with the fourth modified image frameto generate a second blended image frame, blend the first bridge imageframe with the fifth modified image frame to generate a third blendedimage frame, overlay the first blended image frame, the second blendedimage frame, and the third blended image frame to generate a firstoverlayed image frame, display the first overlayed image frame and thesecond bridge image frame, blend the first bridge image frame with thesixth modified image frame to generate a fourth blended image frame,blend the first bridge image frame with the seventh modified image frameto generate a fifth blended image frame, blend the first bridge imageframe with the eighth modified image frame to generate a sixth blendedimage frame, overlay the fourth blended image frame, the fifth blendedimage frame, and the sixth blended image frame to generate a secondoverlayed image frame, and display the second overlayed image frame andthe second bridge image frame.

In one embodiment, the apparatus also includes an electricallycontrolled spectacle to be worn by a viewer.

In another embodiment, the first bridge image frame comprises anon-solid color.

In accordance with another embodiment, a system for presenting a videois provided. The system includes an apparatus comprising a storageadapted to store one or more image frames associated with a video, and aprocessor. The processor is adapted to reshape a portion of at least oneof the one or more image frames. The system also includes anelectrically controlled spectacle which includes a spectacle frame,optoelectronic lenses housed in the frame, the lenses comprising a leftlens and a right lens, each of the optoelectrical lenses having aplurality of states, wherein the state of the left lens is independentof the state of the right lens, and a control unit housed in the frame,the control unit being adapted to control the state of each of thelenses independently. Each of the lenses has a dark state and a lightstate. When viewing the video the control unit places both the left lensand the right lens to a dark state.

In accordance with another embodiment, an apparatus includes a storageadapted to store one or more image frames, and a processor. Theprocessor is adapted to obtain a first image from a first video stream,obtain a second image from a second video stream, wherein the firstimage is different from the second image, stitching together the firstimage and the second image to generate a stitched image frame,generating a first modified image frame by removing a first portion ofthe stitched image frame, generating a second modified image frame byremoving a second portion of the stitched image frame, generating athird modified image frame by removing a third portion of the stitchedimage frame, wherein the first modified image frame, the second modifiedimage frame, and the third modified image frame are different from eachother, identify a bridge frame, blend the first modified image framewith the bridge frame to generate a first blended frame, blend the firstmodified image frame with the bridge frame to generate a first blendedframe, blend the first modified image frame with the bridge frame togenerate a first blended frame, overlay the first blended frame, thesecond blended frame, and the third blended frame to generate a combinedframe, and display the combined frame.

In one embodiment, the apparatus also includes spectacles adapted to beworn by a viewer of a video.

In another embodiment, the bridge frame includes a non-solid color.

In accordance with yet another embodiment, a method of displaying one ormore frames of a video is provided. Data comprising a compressed imageframe and temporal redundancy information is received. The image frameis decompressed. A plurality of bridge frames that are visuallydissimilar to the image frame are generated. The image frame and theplurality of bridge frames are blended, generating a plurality ofblended frames, and the plurality of blended frames are displayed.

In one embodiment, the image frame is decompressed based on the temporalredundancy information.

In another embodiment, the data comprises a compressed video fileassociated with a compression format that uses temporal redundancy toachieve compression of video data. For example, the data may comprise anMPEG compressed video file.

In another embodiment, each bridge frame comprises a solid blackpicture, a solid colored picture, or a timed unlit-screen pause.

In another embodiment, the plurality of blended frames are displayed inaccordance with a predetermined pattern.

In another embodiment, the plurality of blended frames are displayed inaccordance with a predetermined pattern that includes a first patterncomprising the plurality of blended frames, and a second pattern thatcomprises repetition of the first pattern.

In accordance with another embodiment, an apparatus includes a storageconfigured to store a compressed image frame and temporal redundancyinformation, and a processor configured to receive the compressed imageframe and the temporal redundancy information, decompress the imageframe, and generate a plurality of bridge frames that are visuallydissimilar to the image frame. The plurality of bridge frames includes afirst bridge frame having a first width, the first bridge framecomprising a first white rectangle in an upper portion of the firstbridge frame, the first white rectangle having the first width, and asecond bridge frame having a second width, the second bridge framecomprising a second dark rectangle in an upper portion of the secondbridge frame, the second dark rectangle having the second width. Theprocessor is further configured to blend the image frame and theplurality of bridge frames, generating a plurality of blended frames,wherein the plurality of blended frames include a first blended framethat includes the first portion of the image frame in an upper portionof the first blended frame, and a second blended frame that includes thesecond dark rectangle in an upper portion of the second blended frame.The processor is also configured to display the plurality of blendedframes consecutively within a video.

In another embodiment, the processor is further configured to decompressthe image frame based on the temporal redundancy information.

In another embodiment, the data comprises a compressed video fileassociated with a compression format that uses temporal redundancy toachieve compression of video data.

In another embodiment, each bridge frame comprises a timed unlit-screenpause.

In another embodiment, the processor is further configured to displaythe plurality of blended frames in accordance with a predeterminedpattern.

In another embodiment, the processor is further configured to displaythe blended frames in accordance with a predetermined pattern thatincludes a first pattern comprising the plurality of blended frames, anda second pattern that comprises repetition of the first pattern.

In another embodiment, the plurality of bridge frames comprise a firstbridge frame having a first pattern and a second bridge frame having asecond pattern that is complementary to the first pattern.

In accordance with still a further embodiment of the invention, a methodfor generating modified video is provided. A source video comprising asequence of 2D image frames is acquired, and an image frame thatincludes two or more motion vectors that describe motion in the imageframe is obtained from the source video, wherein each of the motionvectors is associated with a region of the image frame. A respectiveparameter is calculated for each of the following: (a) a lateral speedof the image frame, using the two or more motion vectors, and (b) adirection of motion of the image frame, using the two or more motionvectors. A deformation value is generated by applying an algorithm thatuses both of the parameters, and the deformation value is applied to theimage frame to identify a modified image frame. The modified image frameis blended with a bridge frame that is a non-solid color and isdifferent from the modified image frame, to generate a blended frame.The direction of motion and velocity of motion parameters in thecalculating step are calculated only from the motion vectors input alongwith the image frame.

In one embodiment, a viewer views the modified video through spectacles.The spectacles have a left and right lens, and each of the left lens andright lens has a darkened state. Each of the left and right lenses has adarkened state and a light state, the state of the left lens beingindependent of the state of the right lens.

In another embodiment, the spectacles also include a battery, a controlunit and a signal receiving unit. The control unit may be adapted tocontrol the state of the each of the lenses independently. In anotherembodiment, the left and right lenses comprise one or moreelectro-optical materials. In another embodiment, the blended frame isdisplayed to a viewer.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method for generating modifiedvideo is provided. A source video including a sequence of 2D imageframes is acquired, and a modified image frame is obtained based on aselected one of the image frames of the source video. The modified imageframe is blended with a bridge frame that is a non-solid color and isdifferent from the modified image frame, to generate a blended frame.

In one embodiment, the selected image frame comprises two or more motionvectors that describe motion in the selected image frame, wherein eachof the motion vectors is associated with a region of the selected imageframe. A respective parameter is calculated for each of the following:(a) a lateral speed of the selected image frame, using the two or moremotion vectors, and (b) a direction of motion of the selected imageframe, using the two or more motion vectors. A deformation value isgenerated by applying an algorithm that uses both of the parameters, andthe deformation value is applied to the image frame to identify amodified image frame. In one embodiment, the direction of motion andvelocity of motion parameters in the calculation step are calculatedonly from the motion vectors.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method for generating modifiedvideo is provided. A source video comprising a sequence of 2D imageframes is acquired, a first image frame and a second image frame in thesource video are identified, the first image frame and the second imageframe are combined to generate a modified image frame, and the modifiedimage frame is blended with a bridge frame that is a non-solid color,different from the modified image frame, different from the first imageframe, and different from the second image frame, to generate a blendedframe. In one embodiment, the first image frame and the second imageframe are similar.

Many advantages, features, and applications of the invention will beapparent from the following detailed description of the invention thatis provided in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

FIG. 2a shows a left lens of Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles fabricated from a single layer of electrochromic material.

FIG. 2b shows details of an electrochromic device for fabricating theelectronically controlled variable tint material of the right and leftlenses of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the operation of the Continuous Adjustable3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the Control Unit of theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the second preferred embodiment of theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles fabricated from multiplelayers of electrochromic material.

FIG. 6a shows a left lens of Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles fabricated from multiple layers of electrochromic material.

FIG. 6b shows details of a multiple layered electrochromic device forfabricating the electronically controlled variable tint material of theright and left lenses of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the operation of the Continuous Adjustable3Deeps Filter Spectacles using a multiple layered electrochromic devicefor fabricating the electronically controlled variable tint material ofthe right and left lenses.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the operation of the Control Unit of theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles using a multiple layeredelectrochromic device for fabricating the electronically controlledvariable tint material of the right and left lenses.

FIG. 9 is a transition time curve for a single layer of electrochromicmaterial with transition time as a function of transmissivity.

FIG. 10 is a transition time curve for a double layer (multi-layer) ofelectrochromic material with transition time as a function oftransmissivity.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the third preferred embodiment of themulti-use Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles withsingle-layered lenses.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of the operation of the multi-use ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles with single-layered lenses.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the operation of the Control Unit of themulti-use Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles withsingle-layered lenses.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the fourth preferred embodiment of themulti-use Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles withmulti-layered lenses.

FIG. 15a shows a left lens of Multi-Use Electrically ControlledContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles fabricated from multiplelayers of electrochromic materials.

FIG. 15b shows details of a Multi-Use electrochromic device forfabricating the electronically controlled variable tint material of theright and left lenses of the Multi-Use Electrically Controlled 3DeepsContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles using multi-layeredlenses.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of the operation of the multi-use ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles with multi-layered lenses.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart showing the operation of the Control Unit of theMulti-Use Electrically Controlled Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles with multi-layered lenses.

FIGS. 18 a-18 c illustrates the present invention with three pictures.

FIGS. 19 a-19 c illustrates the present invention using three picturesalong with blended pictures.

FIGS. 20 a-20 c illustrates the present invention using the same picturewherein one is offset from the other.

FIGS. 21 a-21 b illustrates the present invention with side-by-sidepairs of pictures.

FIGS. 22 a-22 c illustrates the present invention wherein pictures G andH are identical but image F has been imposed in a slightly differentlocation.

FIGS. 23 a-23 c illustrates pictures of two women in Eternalism with twopictures.

FIGS. 24 a-24 c illustrates the women of FIG. 6 with a 50-50 blendbetween the women and the women and the bridging frame.

FIGS. 25 a-25 c illustrates the same women in two different perspectives(not apparent to normal viewing as pictured here), joined to create anEternalism.

FIGS. 26 a-26 b illustrates the doubling of the frames from FIG. 6.

FIGS. 27 a-27 c illustrates the two women with a smaller frame depictinga portion of one woman repeated and overlayed in the upper left-handcorner of the frame to create a separate depth-configuration within thelarger frame.

FIG. 28 illustrates a combination of the two women with a portion of theone woman both in the bridging frame as well as in one of the framesthat contain both women.

FIG. 29 illustrates Eternalism with two women and a circle movingthrough the frames.

FIG. 30 illustrates the Pulfrich filter.

FIG. 31 shows components of a video display manager in accordance withan embodiment.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a method of decompressing and displaying oneor more image frames in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 33 shows an image frame in accordance with an embodiment;

FIGS. 34A-34B show respective bridge frames in accordance with anembodiment.

FIGS. 35A-35B show respective blended frames in accordance with anembodiment.

FIG. 35C shows a pattern comprising a plurality of blended frames inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 35D shows a predetermined pattern that includes repetition of asecond pattern that comprises a plurality of blended frames inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 36 is a high-level block diagram of an exemplary computer that maybe used to implement certain embodiments.

FIG. 37 shows a typical curve of retinal reaction time as a function ofluminosity.

FIG. 38A shows the operation of the Pulfrich illusion when there is nohorizontal foreground motion in the motion picture.

FIG. 38B shows the operation of the Pulfrich illusion when the motionpicture exhibits horizontal foreground motion from the right to theleft.

FIG. 38C shows the operation of the Pulfrich illusion when the motionpicture exhibits horizontal foreground motion from the left to theright.

FIG. 39 uses the typical curve of retinal reaction time as a function ofluminosity to explain the operation of cardboard Pulfrich Filterspectacles with fixed lenses.

FIG. 40 uses the typical curve of retinal reaction time as a function ofluminosity to demonstrate how to compute from a motion vector andluminosity the optimal optical density for the neutral density lens ofthe preferred embodiment of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles so that the difference in retinal reaction time between theviewer's eyes results in instant and lagging images that correspond to aseparation on the display monitor of exactly 2½ inches.

FIG. 41 shows an algorithm that can be used to calculate the optimaloptical density for the neutral density filter of the preferredembodiment of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

FIG. 42 is an illustration of an alternate algorithm to characterizelateral motion in a motion picture.

FIG. 43 uses the typical curve of retinal reaction time as a function ofluminosity to demonstrate a first alternate embodiment for computing anoptimal optical density for the neutral density lens of the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles so that the difference in retinalreaction time between the viewer's eyes is a constant value.

FIG. 44 shows Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles thatinclude a photo-detector.

FIG. 45 uses the typical curve of retinal reaction time as a function ofluminosity to demonstrate a second alternate embodiment for computing anoptimal optical density for the neutral density lens of the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles so that the difference in retinalreaction time between the viewer's eyes corresponds to a fixed number offrames of the motion picture.

FIG. 46 is a flowchart showing the use of a format conversionsemiconductor chip to compute the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles synchronization information.

FIG. 47 is a block diagram showing the operation of the Video and 3Deepsprocessing used to calculate the optimal optical density of the neutraldensity filter in the preferred embodiment of the Continuous Adjustable3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

FIG. 48 is a table showing control information for the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

FIG. 49 shows a typical operating characteristic curve for anelectrochromic material with optical density as a function of voltage.

FIG. 50 is a first example of a transition time curve for anelectrochromic material with transition time as a function of opticaldensity.

FIG. 51 is a second example of a transition time curve for anelectrochromic material with transition time as a function of opticaldensity.

FIG. 52 is a block diagram showing the operation of the control unit ofthe Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

FIG. 53 is a block diagram showing the operation of a typical theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles system.

FIG. 54 is a block diagram for a preferred embodiment of an IC Chipgenerating optimum optical density signals for each individual lens of aContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacle.

FIG. 55 is a block diagram of an alternate embodiment of an IC chipgenerating the change in optical density signals for each individuallens of a Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacle.

FIG. 56 shows Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles thatinclude an IC chip generating the change in optical density signals foreach individual lens of a Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacle.

FIG. 57 shows components of a video display manager in accordance withan embodiment.

FIG. 58 is a flowchart of a method of displaying one or more imageframes in accordance with an embodiment.

FIGS. 59A-59B comprise a flowchart of a method of generating modifiedvideo in accordance with an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

References will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments ofthe invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

To help understand the invention the following summary of inventive workfrom the previous related patent disclosures is provided. The purpose ofthis section then is to explain the ground that has been covered inprevious related patents and then identify the problems that thiscurrent patent application addresses and solves.

The Pulfrich Illusion

There is a well-studied stereoscopic illusion called the Pulfrichillusion in which the illusion of 3D is invoked by differentiallyshading the left and right eye. Anyone watching TV through specialviewing glasses can see the illusion. One way to construct the specialPulfrich viewing glasses is to take sunglasses and remove the left lens,so that the left eye views the TV screen unobstructed and the right eyeviews the TV screen through the darkened sunglass lens. With suchPulfrich viewing spectacles all screen motion from left-to-right will bein 3D. The illusion is based on basic eye mechanics—the shaded lenscauses the eye to send the image to the brain later than unshaded eye.If the time difference is 1/10 second than on a 100 Hz digital TV thedifference is 10 screen images, which is enough to produce a vividillusion of 3D in the presence of moderate lateral motion. The imageprocessing part of the brain puts the two disparate images together asdepth. This is a pure optical illusion that has nothing to do with how amotion picture is filmed.

The Pulfrich illusion has been used for more than 50 years to produce 3Dmovies, using cardboard viewing spectacles with a clear left lens anddark transparent right lens. Pulfrich 3D motion pictures have beenproduced including such offerings as the 1971 feature length movie I,Monster Starring Christopher Lee as well as selected scenes from the1997 second season finale of the network TV sitcom Third Rock From TheSun. However there is a problem in that the special Pulfrich viewingglasses impose severe constraints on both the movie and viewing venue.

More specifically, the problem then is that for any special viewingspectacles with lenses of a fixed optical density, the lighting, andspeed and direction of screen motion have to be in exactly properalignment to get an optimal 3D effect that is comparable to other 3Dmethods such as anaglyph (blue-red viewing spectacles). That conjunctionof light and motion rarely happens so Pulfrich is not considered aviable approach to 3D movies or TV. Movies made for viewing using thePulfrich illusion are best viewed in darkened venues, and if the samemovie is viewed in a brightly lit venue the illusion is diminished ormay even totally disappear.

These problems could be addressed if dynamic Pulfrich viewing spectaclescould be constructed that self-configured themselves to the light andmotion instant in a motion picture. However, such dynamic viewingspectacles still must be totally passive to the viewer.

3Deeps Systems Proposed in the Earliest Related Patent Applications

Early solutions provided dynamic Pulfrich viewing spectacles (called3Deeps viewing spectacles) that could be synchronized to the movies.These solutions utilized neutral optoelectronic lenses (transmissivityof visible light) that are controllable by an electric potential. Thelenses could take any of three states; clear left lens and clear rightlens (clear-clear) when there is no screen motion; clear left lens anddark right lens (clear-dark) when screen motion is from left to right;and, dark left lens and clear right lens (dark-clear) when the screenmotion is from right to left. Wired or wireless signals (Infrared,radio, or sound) synchronized the 3Deeps viewing spectacles to themovies. These early solutions also addressed how to calculate thelateral motion between frames of a motion picture and thesynchronization controllers that calculated and transmitted the motionvector information to the 3Deeps viewing spectacles. The proposedsolution had significant benefits and advantages including: Every movieever made—without additional alteration or processing—could be viewed in3D when wearing 3Deeps spectacles A movie could be viewed simultaneouslyby viewers with or without 3Deeps spectacles, and No changes arerequired to any broadcast standards, cinema formatting, viewing venue,or viewing monitors

It should be understood, that the natural view of the world thatviewer's expect of cinema is 3-dimensional, and to any movie viewer withbinocular vision, it is the screen flatness of 2D that is strange andunnatural. From the earliest days of motion pictures cinematographershave used light and lateral movement as cues to help the viewertranslate 2D screen flatness into their binocular vision expectations.But light and lateral motion are precisely the factors that elicit thePulfrich illusion, so when movies are produced, cinematographers andlighting specialists stress precisely the features that the 3Deepssystems can translate into the natural sense of depth that the viewer isexpecting. That is to say, since the advent of moving pictures,filmmakers have been unknowingly preparing their movies for advantageous3D viewing using 3Deeps spectacles.

However, the early 3Deeps spectacles did not address how to calculate anoptical density for the lenses of the 3Deeps spectacles that wouldmaximize the Pulfrich stereoscopic illusion.

A Second Solution—Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles

The most recent related 3Deeps patent applications disclose how toconstruct better 3Deeps viewing spectacles that maximize the Pulfrichstereoscopic illusion and are referred to as Continuous Adjustable3Deeps Filter Spectacles. To construct these improved 3Deeps viewingspectacles we utilize the body of existing knowledge about (1) the humaneye retinal reaction time, and (2) the operating characteristics of theoptoelectronic material of the 3Deeps lens.

Retinal Reaction Time

While each eye is stimulated by light continuously, there is a timedelay called the retinal reaction time until the information istriggered and transmitted to the brain. Retinal reaction time isprimarily dependent on the amount of light (brightness) that falls onthe eye. For instance, in the presence of the bright light of a “ClearSky at noon” the retinal reaction time is about 100 milliseconds (1/10-th of a second) and the eye will trigger about every 100milliseconds and send the image from the eye to the brain. In thepresence of light from a “Clear Sky” the retinal reaction time isslower—about 200 milliseconds. And in the presence of light thatapproximates a “Night sky with a full moon” the retinal reaction time isslower still—almost 400 milliseconds. The darker is the illumination,the retinal reaction time become increasingly slower.

While the retinal reaction mechanisms are independent for each eye, innormal viewing both eyes are unobstructed and the luminance value is thesame and the eyes trigger at about the same time. However, if one eye isshaded so the eyes have unequal retinal illuminance, then the two eyeswill trigger at different speeds and different times. Using lens filterswith different optical density shading causes this to happen and resultsin a difference in retinal reaction time for each eye. The difference inretinal reaction time between the two eyes is one factor in the commonlyaccepted explanation for the Pulfrich illusion.

The second factor is simultaneity. The brain will take two eye imagesand put them together in a simultaneous fashion to generate the imagethat we perceive. Thus in normal viewing, if both eyes see the same 2Dimage without any filtered obstruction, the brain gets two identicalimages and there is no information by which the brain may infer depth.However, if one eye is differently shaded, than the eyes send twodifferent images to the brain, and the mind places them together andinterprets the two different images as depth. These two factors, retinalreaction time, and simultaneity are the two factors that explainPulfrich illusion.

If the scene being viewed is static with no moving object, then the“instant” image of the unshaded eye and the “lagging image” of theshaded eye will still see the same image and the retinal reaction delayand simultaneity factors will not provide any depth information. Thus,the Pulfrich illusion does not work in the absence of motion. But if thescene being viewed has horizontal motion (also called lateral motion)then the shaded eye will see an image that is “lagging” the instantimage. In this case the “lagging image” caused by retinal reaction delayof the shaded eye, when juxtaposed with the “instant image” perceived bythe unshaded eye will, through the mechanism of simultaneity, bereconciled by the brain as a perception of depth. This is the Pulfrichillusion.

Well-researched retinal reaction curves describing this phenomenon areavailable and are used by the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles to select the optical density of the lens to maximize thePulfrich illusion. This is done in the following exemplary manner. Firstwe measure the ambient light optical density and use that with theretinal reaction curve to get the retinal delay for the eye viewingthrough the “clear” lens. We then use the direction of lateral motion todetermine which of the right and left lenses is clear (with the otherlens the dark lens.) If the lateral motion is from the left-to-rightdirection on the screen then the “clear” lens of the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles will be the left lens, and if thelateral motion is in the opposite direction then the “clear” lens willbe the right lens.

To set the optical density of the dark lens we now utilize the magnitudeof the motion. As an example, if lateral motion of the major object inthe frame is measured as moving at 0.25 inches per frame then it willtake 10 frames to move 2.5 inches—the average inter-ocular distance. Inthis case the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles use theretinal reaction curve to determine an optical density setting for thedarkened lens so the motion-direction eye will see a lagging image thatis 10 frames behind that of the unshielded eye. If the TV screen has arefresh rate of 100 Hz then 10 frames is precisely 100 milliseconds, soif the ambient light is that of a “Clear Sky at noon” with a retinalreaction time of 100 milliseconds, then we would set the dark lens tohave an optical density of a “Clear Sky” which corresponds to a retinalreaction time of 200 milliseconds. Depending upon the ambientillumination, the optical density of the dark lens can always becalculated and precisely determined from the retinal reaction curve andthe objective function that maximizes the Pulfrich illusion.

Once the optimal optical density values are known for the lenses of theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, the OperatingCharacteristic curve of the optoelectronic material of the lenses can beutilized to apply the correct potential to the lenses so the lenses ofthe viewing spectacles have the optical density so the movie is viewedwith a maximal Pulfrich stereoscopic illusion.

In previous patent applications, retinal reaction time is used tocalculate the optimal optical density value (a first optimization) andthe operating characteristic curve is used for control over the lensesof the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles (a secondoptimization). However, other problems are not address and are thesubject of this pending patent application.

There is a problem that many optoelectronic materials often do notchange state instantaneously. While frame-to-frame display of a motionpicture may be 100 Hz (100 frames a second or 10 milliseconds per frame)a typical optoelectronic material made from electrochromic material mayhave a “slow” response time and take several seconds to change from aclear state to a much darker state. A second problem may relate to alimited “cycle life” (number of clear-dark cycles) of someoptoelectronic materials that may be limited. Both of these problems canbe addressed by using multiple layers of optoelectronic material infabricating the lenses of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles, and this patent discloses how to implement such a solution.Both problems relate to the viewing spectacle side of the solution thatimplements the already independently calculated optical density thatmaximizes the 3D Pulfrich stereoscopic illusion.

Variable Tint and Optoelectronic Devices

Optoelectronic devices (or materials) that control the transmission oflight through the device may be referred to as a variable tint device orvariable tint material. Neutral variable tint devices reduce thetransmission of light approximately equally along the entire spectrum ofvisible light and thus do not noticeably distort color. Other variabletint devices may allow transmission of light in a restricted spectrum ofvisible light and block light outside the restricted range, such as bluevariable tint devices that allows the passage of light in the bluespectrum (.lamda..about.490-450 nm). Devices that control properties oflight other than the transmission of light through the medium will bereferred to simply as optoelectronic devices.

Methods of Producing 3-D Illusion in Moving Pictures

Motion pictures are images in 2-dimensions. However, several methodshave been developed for providing the illusion of depth in motionpictures. These include the Anaglyph, Intru3D (also called ColorCode3D), IMAX (Polaroid), shutter glasses and Pulfrich 3-dimensionalillusions.

Anaglyph 3-Dimensional Illusion

“Anaglyph” refers to the red/blue (red/cyan or red/green) glasses thatare used in comic books and in cereal packets etc. The glasses consistof nothing more than one piece of transparent blue plastic and one pieceof transparent red plastic. These glasses are easy to manufacture andhave been around since the 1920s.

An anaglyph stereo picture starts as a normal stereo pair of images, twoimages of the same scene, shot from slightly different positions. Oneimage is then made all green/blue and the other is made all red, the twoare then seen together.

When the image is viewed through the glasses the red parts are seen byone eye and the other sees the green/blue parts. The visual cortex ofthe brain fuses this into perception of a three-dimensional scene orcomposition. This effect is fairly simple to do with photography, andextremely easy to do on a PC, and it can even be hand-drawn. The mainlimitation of this technique is that because the color is used in thisway, the true color content of the image is usually lost and theresulting images are usually in black and white. As the colors competefor dominance they may appear unstable and monochromatic. A few imagescan retain a resemblance to their original color content, but thephotographer has to be very selective with color and picture content.

Intru3D—Intel

Intel's Intru3D uses the ColorCode 3D method that is an update to themore familiar Anaglyph method of 3D stereoscopy. It is similar to theAnaglyph method of stereoscopy but rather than make one image green/blueand the other image red, Intru3D records the two images as amber andblue. This provides generally truer color than typical Red/Blueanaglyphs, particularly where Red image components are concerned.

IMAX (Polaroid) 3-Dimensional Illusion

IMAX creates the illusion of 3-dimensional depth by recording the motionpictures on two separate rolls of film with two camera lenses torepresent the left and right eyes. These lenses are separated by aninterocular distance of about 2.5 in., the average distance between ahuman's eyes. By recording on two separate rolls of film for the leftand right eyes, and then projecting them simultaneously, IMAX can createa 3-Dimensional illusion for viewers.

IMAX uses either of two different methods to create the 3D illusion inthe theatre. The first method relies on polarization. During projection,the left eye image is polarized in one direction and the right eye imagepolarized perpendicular to the left eye image as they are projected onthe IMAX screen. By wearing special viewing glasses with lensespolarized in their respective directions to match the projection, theleft eye image can be viewed only by the left eye since the polarizationof the left lens will cancel out that of the right eye projection, andthe right eye image can be viewed only by the right eye since thepolarization of the right lens will cancel out that of the left eyeprojection.

IMAX also uses another method—shutter glasses—for 3D viewing. Thismethod of 3D projection involves the use of LCD shutter glasses that usesimilarly polarized lenses for both eyes. The left and right eye imagesare projected on the viewing screen in alternate frames. These LCDshutter glasses are synchronized to the projector. The projectordisplays the left and right images that are momentarily viewed by theappropriate eye by allowing that LCD lens to become transparent whilethe other remains opaque. That is when the left eye frame is projectedon the screen, the left lens of the shutter glasses becomes transparentand the right lens of the shutter glasses becomes opaque. When the nextframe is projected on the screen—a frame for the right eye—the left lensbecomes opaque and the right lens becomes transparent.

In both the IMAX 3D systems only the correct eye is allowed to view thecorrect image while the other eye is “blinded”. The “transparent” stateis actually quite dark, and occludes about 35% of the projected light tothe viewing eye while the non-viewing eye is supposed to view no imageat all.

Shutter Glasses

Different formulations of shutter glasses have been implemented over thelast few decades, but without much large-scale commercial success. Ashutter glasses solution generally require two images for each image ofvideo, with shutter covering or uncovering each eye of the viewer. Thisallows one eye to see, than the other, with the shutters timed andsynchronized with the video so that each eye only sees the imageintended for it.

Some shutter glass systems are wired to a control device while someshutter glass systems use wireless infrared signaling to control thestate of the lenses.

CrystalEyes is the name of a stereoscopic viewing product produced bythe StereoGraphics Corporation of San Rafael, Calif. They arelightweight, wireless liquid crystal shuttering eyewear that are used toallow the user to view alternating field sequential stereo images. Thesource of the images alternately displays a left-eye view followed by aright-eye view. CrystalEyes' shutters can block either of the user'seyes so that only images appropriate for each eye are allowed to pass. Awireless infrared communications link synchronizes the shuttering of theeyewear to the images displayed on the monitor or other viewing screen.CrystalEyes shutter glasses, weight only 3.3 ounces, use two 3Vlithium/manganese dioxide batteries, and have a battery life of 250hours. This demonstrates the robustness and potential of any viewerglass solution.

Because shutter glasses only expose each eye to every other frame, therefresh rate of the video is effectively cut in half. On a TV withrefresh rates of 30 frames per second (for an NTSC TV) or 25 frames persecond (for a PAL TV), this is hard on the eyes because of the continualflicker. This problem is eliminated with higher refresh rates, such ason PC monitors.

However, shutter systems have not been overwhelmingly commerciallysuccessful. Motion pictures that use such stereo shutter systems requiretwo frames for each frame of regular film. Motion pictures would thenhave to be produced in at least 2 versions. Also, except on high refreshrate systems, such as expensive PC monitors, the viewer sees too muchflicker causing distraction and annoyance. An additional requirement andburden is the wired or wireless signaling to control the state of thelens. LCD screens that are used on laptops generally do not have highenough refresh rates for stereoscopic shutter 3D systems. Shuttersystems generally do not work well with LCD or movie projectors.

Electronically Controlled Variable Tint Materials

Numerous materials have been identified that have the property that thetransmission of light through the material can be controlled by theapplication of an electronic voltage or potential across the material.These include the classes of materials typically named electrochromic,suspended particle and polymer dispersed liquid crystal devices. Withineach class of electronically controlled variable tint material there arenumerous formularies. Other classes of materials may be found in thefuture. Any material for which the transmission of light or otheroptical property of light can be controlled by an electronic potentialmay be utilized in the invention.

Electrochromic Devices (EDs)

Electrochromic devices change light transmission properties in responseto voltage and thus allow control of the amount of light passing throughthe material. A burst of electricity is required for changing the tintof the material, but once the change has been occurred, no electricityis needed for maintaining the particular shade that has been reached.Electrochromic materials provide visibility even in the darkened state,and thus preserves visible contact with the outside environment. It hasbeen used in small-scale applications such as rearview mirrors.Electrochromic technology also finds use in indoor applications, forexample, for protection of objects under the glass of museum displaycases and picture frame glass from the damaging effects of the UV andvisible wavelengths of artificial light. Recent advances inelectrochromic materials pertaining to transition-metal hydrideelectrochromics have led to the development of reflective hydrides,which become reflective rather than absorbing, and thus switch statesbetween transparent and mirror-like.

Suspended Particle Devices (SPDs)

In suspended particle devices (SPDs), a thin film laminate of rod-likeparticles suspended in a fluid is placed between two glass or plasticlayers, or attached to one layer. When no voltage is applied, thesuspended particles are arranged in random orientations and tend toabsorb light, so that the glass panel looks dark (or opaque), blue or,in more recent developments, gray or black color. When voltage isapplied, the suspended particles align and let light pass. SPDs can bedimmed, and allow instant control of the amount of light and heatpassing through. A small but constant electrical current is required forkeeping the SPD in its transparent stage.

Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal Devices (PDLCs)

In polymer dispersed liquid crystal devices (PDLCs), liquid crystals aredissolved or dispersed into a liquid polymer followed by solidificationor curing of the polymer. During the change of the polymer from a liquidto solid, the liquid crystals become incompatible with the solid polymerand form droplets throughout the solid polymer. The curing conditionsaffect the size of the droplets that in turn affect the final operatingproperties of the variable tint material. Typically, the liquid mix ofpolymer and liquid crystals is placed between two layers of glass orplastic that include a thin layer of a transparent, conductive materialfollowed by curing of the polymer, thereby forming the basic sandwichstructure of the smart window. This structure is in effect a capacitor.Electrodes from a power supply are attached to the transparentelectrodes. With no applied voltage, the liquid crystals are randomlyarranged in the droplets, resulting in scattering of light as it passesthrough the smart window assembly. This results in the translucent,“milky white” appearance. When a voltage is applied to the electrodes,the electric field formed between the two transparent electrodes on theglass cause the liquid crystals to align, thereby allowing light to passthrough the droplets with very little scattering, resulting in atransparent state. The degree of transparency can be controlled by theapplied voltage. This is possible because at lower voltages, only a fewof the liquid crystals are able to be aligned completely in the electricfield, so only a small portion of the light passes through while most ofthe light is scattered. As the voltage is increased, fewer liquidcrystals remain out of alignment thus resulting in less light beingscattered. It is also possible to control the amount of light and heatpassing through when tints and special inner layers are used. Most ofthe devices offered today operate in on or off states only, even thoughthe technology to provide for variable levels of transparency is easilyapplied. This technology has been used in interior and exterior settingsfor privacy control (for example conference rooms, intensive-care areas,bathroom/shower doors) and as a temporary projection screen. A newgeneration of switchable film and glass called 3G Switchable Film isavailable from Scienstry, using a non-linear technology to increasetransparency, lower the required driving voltage and extend thelifetime.

A First Preferred Embodiment of the Invention

FIG. 1 is a perspective view 100 of the preferred embodiment of theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. It is comprised of aframe 101 that is used as the housing for the lenses and controlcircuitry. Such frames are a well-known means by which lenses can befixed before a person's eyes for viewing. On the frame 101 is batterydevice 104 to power all circuitry of the Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles. Also, on the frame 101 is a receiver 102 labeled “Rx”that is powered by the battery 104. The receiver 102 has apparatus toreceive radio-frequency (RF) 110 waves with synchronization and controlinformation used to control the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles. Such receivers are well known in the art of electronics.Also on the frame 101 is a control unit 103 powered by the battery 104that transforms the continuing optical density signals into theelectronic potentials used to control the optical density of eachindividual lens. Also on the frame 101 is an on/off switch 112 thatcontrols whether the electronic circuits of the 3Deeps spectacles 101receive power (on position) from the battery or not (power off). Otherembodiments may replace RF communications with other communicationsmeans, including but not limited to infrared, or audio sound.

Two lenses are fixed in the frames—a right lens (from the movie viewer'svantage point) 105 and a left lens 106. In the preferred embodiment,each lens is made of an electrochromic material for which the opticaldensity can be reliably and precisely controlled by the application ofan electronic potential across the material. The lens has circuitry sothat the control unit 103 can independently control the transmissivityof each lens. Other embodiment may use optoelectronic materials otherthan electrochromics. A second preferred embodiment of ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles using multi-layered lenses isdisclosed starting in FIG. 5. A third preferred embodiment of ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps spectacles using single-layered lenses for a multi-useapplication is disclosed starting in FIG. 11. A fourth preferredembodiment of Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles usingmulti-layered lenses for a multi-use application is disclosed startingin FIG. 14.

For exemplary purposes, FIG. 1 shows the Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles in just one of the three states that the lenses cantake. FIG. 1 shows the right lens 105 darkened and the left lens 106 asclear with the clear lens allowing more light transmission than thedarkened lens. This is the configuration to view a motion picture with a3-dimensional effect in which the lateral motion in the motion pictureis moving from left-to-right on the viewing screen. Other embodiments ofthe invention may have Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectaclesthat fit over regular prescription glasses in a manner similar to thatin which snap-on or clip-on sunglasses are configured. In still anotherembodiment the lenses of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles may also be prescription lenses customized for the viewervision impairments.

Also, while the preferred embodiment of the invention uses ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles that are wireless, other embodimentsmay use wired connections. What is required is that the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles can receive and respond tosynchronization signals from the controller, and whether that is bywired or wireless means is immaterial to the invention.

Earlier versions of 3Deeps Filter Spectacles (also called PulfrichFilter Spectacles) have been previously described in co-pending patentapplications and patents U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/274,752,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/928,152, U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/372,723, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/372,702, andU.S. Pat. Nos. 7,030,902 and 7,218,339.

There are 3 lens settings used by the Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles. One setting is that both the right 105 and left lens106 are clear. Neither lens is darkened. This is the lens state that isused in the preferred embodiment when there is no significant lateralmotion in the motion picture. The second setting is the left lens 106clear and the right lens 105 darkened. This is the lens state that isused in the preferred embodiment when foreground lateral motion in themotion picture is moving from the left to the right direction, as seenfrom the viewer's perspective. The third setting is the left lens 106darkened and the right lens 105 clear. This is the lens state that isused in the preferred embodiment when the foreground lateral motion inthe motion picture is moving from the right to the left direction, asseen from the viewer's perspective.

The lens state consisting of both left and the right lens darkened isnot used by any of the 3Deeps spectacles. However, this lens state canbe achieved by the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, andmay have uses in other embodiments of the invention. In the thirdpreferred embodiment of the invention, this lens state is used toprovide an alternate use for 3Deeps viewing spectacle—sunglasses. Inthat embodiment, “multi-use” 3Deeps spectacles are switch selectable aseither (Use 1) 3Deeps viewing spectacles using the 3 lens settingsdescribed in the preceding paragraph for 3Deeps viewing, or (Use 2)sunglasses using the left and right lens darkening to a pre-set opticaldensity.

In Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, the right and leftlenses of the viewing glasses may independently take a multiplicity ofdifferent levels of darkness to achieve different effects, resulting inmany different lens states. In particular, the darkening of thenon-clear lens can be optimized according to the speed of lateral motionand/or luminance, so as to optimize the degree of 3-dimensional effect(a first optimization). Also, the Control Unit 103 can control theelectrochromic lenses so that they reach their target state in anoptimal manner (a second optimization).

Various consumer-based control units may be utilized with the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles that can both display theaudio/video of the associated motion picture, as well as perform theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles synchronization toidentify 3Deeps synchronization events and issue control signals to theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. This includes, but isnot limited to; DVD-based control units; Digital Movie Projector controlunits; Television-based control units; hand-held and operated controlunits; spectacle-based control units; software-based processing thatparses compressed digital video file and uses its motion estimationinformation (e.g. MPEG); and, cell-phone based control units.

FIG. 2a 200 shows a left lens 106 of Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles fabricated from a single layer of electrochromic material.Its fabrication using electrochromic material is shown in adjoining FIG.2 b.

FIG. 2b 225 shows the cross-sectional detail of the electrochromicdevice of FIG. 2a used for fabricating the electronically controlledvariable tint material of the right and left lenses of the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. The Figure shows a typicaldual-polymer electrochromic device consisting of seven layers ofmaterial. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the right lens105 and left lens 106 of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles 100 are fabricated from such material. The first layer 201 ofthe electrochromic material 225 is a glass, plastic (or other clearinsulating material.) The second layer 202 is a conducting layer,followed by a third layer 203 of polymer. The fourth layer 204 is anelectrolytic layer that depending upon the electrochromic material maybe a liquid or gel. This layer provides the ion transport whosedirection is determined by the application of potential across theconducting layers. The fifth layer 205 is the complementary polymerlayer, followed by a sixth layer 206 of conducting material. The lastlayer 207 of the electrochromic is another insulting layer of glass,plastic or other clear insulating material.

While FIG. 2b 225 show a typical dual-polymer electrochromic device, aspreviously indicated, there are numerous such electrochromic devices,and any electrochromic may be favorably utilized in the invention. Someelectrochromic devices may not have seven layers as shown in FIG. 2b .For instance, some variable tint materials may be in the form of aflexible film or laminate that can be applied to a single layer of clearglass or plastic.

Also, any electronically controlled variable tint material may be usedin the invention rather than the displayed electrochromic device. Anymaterial whose optical property of transmissivity of light may becontrolled by the application of an electric potential may be favorablyuse to fabricate the lenses of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles 100.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram 300 of the operation of the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles of FIG. 1. All circuits on theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 101 are powered 301 bythe Power Unit 104 (if the power on/off switch 112 is in the onposition), including the Control Unit 103, Signal Receiving Unit 102,the Left Lens 106, and the Right Lens 105. The control information 110is received by the Signal Receiving Unit 102 and sent 302 to the ControlUnit 103. The control unit 103 implements an algorithm that is specificfor the lens materials used in the fabrication of the Right Lens 105 andthe Left lens 106 of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles,and controls the Left Lens 106 over a control circuit 303, and the RightLens over a control circuit 305.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart 400 showing the operation of the Control Unit 103of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles of the firstpreferred embodiment. The input to the Control Unit 103 is thesynchronization signal 302. The output is the control signal sent to theleft lens 106 over the control left lens control circuit 303, and thecontrol signal sent to the right lens 105 over the right lens controlcircuit 305. The synchronization signals 302 are received and stored bythe Read and Store 3Deeps Signal block 401 of the Control Unit 103 andstored in a LIFO (Last In First Out) memory stack 403. Control thenpasses to Store and Manage Signal processing 405 that “pops” the top ofthe stack (read the value and eliminates it from storage) and processesthe synchronization signal by storing it in a 3Deeps Signal memorystorage 407. Processing control then passes to Parse and Store Left andRight OD in which the 3Deeps signal memory storage 407 is parsed andstored in the Left OD value 411, and the Right OD value 413. Processingthen continues with the Right Lens Control 417 in which the right lensvalue 413 is converted to an electronic signal 305 that controls theoptical density of the right lens. Processing then continues with theLeft Lens Control 415 in which the left lens value 411 is converted toan electronic signal 303 that controls the optical density of the leftlens. Processing in the Control Unit 103 then is passed back to the Readand Store 3Deeps Signal.

It should be understood that different control circuits might beutilized by other embodiments. For instance other embodiments may haveno need for LIFO signal store and management since control of the 3Deepsspectacles is in real-time and there is no need to switch the lenses topast setting. Also, better emphasize the logical operation of thecontrol unit some functions have not been shown. For instance, thecontrol unit may cycle at a much faster rate then the receivedsynchronization signals resulting in an empty stack. The handling ofsuch an empty stack state is not shown in the flow diagram but would behandled as well-known in the art by detecting that the stack is emptyand passing control in the Control Unit 103 back to the Read and Store3Deeps Signal state 401 rather than passing control as shown in the flowdiagram 400.

Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles have great advantages.The control information 110 is spectacle-agnostic; i.e. all spectaclesreceive the same transmitted control information. The control unit 103on the spectacles performs a final view-spectacle-specific optimization,translating the control information into control signals specific to thelens material used to fabricate the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles. Two viewers sitting side-by-side and watching the same videoon a digital TV but wearing Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles that have lens material with totally differentcharacteristics, will each see the movie with an illusion of 3Doptimized for their spectacles.

A Second Preferred Embodiment of the Invention

FIG. 5 is a perspective view 500 of the second preferred embodiment ofthe Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 550 withmulti-layered lenses. The difference between FIG. 5 (multi-layered lens)and FIG. 1 (single layer lens) is in their respective right lens (505 ofFIG. 5), left lens (506 of FIG. 5), and control unit (503 of FIG. 5).Like numbered items in FIG. 5 and FIG. 1 have the same function anddefinition. The lenses for the second preferred embodiment (505 and 506)are described in greater detail in FIGS. 6a and 6b , and the controlunit for the second preferred embodiment is described in greater detailin FIG. 8.

FIG. 6a 600 shows a left lens 506 of Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles fabricated from multiple layers of electrochromic material.Its fabrication using electrochromic material is shown in adjoining FIG.6b . Since only a single layer of insulating glass material will berequired between the different layers of the multi-layeredelectrochromic lens, the drawing of the top layer is slightly differentthan that of FIG. 2a to emphasize that only one layer of such insulatingmaterial is necessary. FIG. 6a therefore shows the lens 106 as twolayers where the first active layer 611 is separated by the secondactive layer 601 by an insulating layer 610. The first active layer 611and the insulating layer 610 comprise the single layer lens 106 of FIG.2 a.

FIG. 6b 625 shows the cross-sectional details of the multiple layeredelectrochromic device of FIG. 6a that is used for fabricating theelectronically controlled variable tint material of the right and leftlenses of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. The 7layers of the electrochromic left lens 106 of FIG. 2b are shown in FIG.6b as the 6 active layers 611, and the (seventh) insulating layer 201.Each layer is identical to their like numbered description accompanyingFIG. 2b . A second active layer 601 is included in the multi-layeredelectrochromic lens. In the second preferred embodiment of theinvention, the second layer 601 of the lens is fabricated from identicalelectrochromic material as used to fabricate the first layer 611 of theleft lens 506 so that each layer has the same Operating Characteristiccurve 900 as shown in FIG. 9. The six layers of electrochromic materialfor the second layer are identical to their like numbered descriptionaccompanying FIG. 2b . Other embodiments may use electrochromic materialwith different material so that the two layers have different OperatingCharacteristic curves. Also, other embodiments may have more than 2layers.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram 700 of the operation of the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles of FIG. 5 using a multiple layeredelectrochromic device for fabricating the electronically controlledvariable tint material of the right 505 and left lenses 506. Allcircuits on the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 550 arepowered 301 by the battery 104, including the Control Unit 503, SignalReceiving Unit 102, the Left Lens 506, and the Right Lens 505. Thecontrol information 110 is received by the Signal Receiving Unit 102 andsent 302 to the Control Unit 503. The control unit 503 implements analgorithm that is specific for the multi-layered lens materials used inthe fabrication of the Right Lens 505 and the Left lens 506 of themulti-layered Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, andcontrols the Left Lens 506 with a control circuit 703, and the RightLens 505 with a control circuit 704.

The difference between FIG. 7 (multi-layered lens) and FIG. 3 (singlelayer lens) is in their respective right and left lenses, control units,and control circuits. For the right lens 505 and left lens 506, thelenses are fabricated from multiple layers of electrochromic material.In the second preferred embodiment of the invention these are the sameas the lens fabrication shown in FIG. 6. The control unit for themulti-layered lens 503 must control multiple layers while the controlunit for the single-layered lens 103 only need control a single layerelectrochromic lens. In this second preferred embodiment of theinvention, both layers of the multi-layered electrochromic lens are madeof the same material with the same Operating Characteristic curve andboth lenses have applied to them identical voltage across each layer.However, since there are multi-layers of material, it will be shownusing the Operating Characteristic curve of FIGS. 9 and 10, that toachieve a target optical density for each lens, the control unit 503will only need apply voltage to the multi-layers for less time than forthe single layer. For the control circuits, the multi-lens controlcircuits need to apply voltage across multiple layered assemblies, notjust a single lens assembly.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart 800 showing the operation of the Control Unit 503of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 550 using amultiple layered electrochromic device for fabricating theelectronically controlled variable tint material of the right lens 505and left lens 506. This flow chart 800 is very similar to the flow chartof the control unit for the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles using a single layered electrochromic device of FIG. 4. Thememory storage LIFO Signal Stack 403, 3Deeps Signal 407, Left OD 411,and Right OD 413 are the same as previously described for FIG. 4. Theprocessing modules Read & Store 3Deeps Signal 401, Store and Manage3Deeps Signal 405, and Parse and Store Left and Right OD 409 are thesame as previously described for FIG. 4. The difference between FIG. 4and FIG. 8 is in the Left Lens Multilayer circuitry 815 and the leftlens 506 that the circuit controls, and in the Right Lens MultilayerControl circuitry 817 and the right lens 505 that the circuit controls.In this multi-layer embodiment of the invention, the Left LensMultilayer circuitry 815 must control two layers of the electrochromicleft lens 506, and the Right Lens Multilayer circuitry 817 must controltwo layers of the electrochromic right lens 505. It will be shown laterin FIGS. 9 and 10 that the target optical densities for the left lens411 and the right lens 409 can be achieved more rapidly.

This approach has the same advantages as for single-layer ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. The control information 110 isspectacle-agnostic; i.e. all spectacles receive the same transmittedcontrol information. The control unit 503 on the spectacles performs afinal view-spectacle-specific optimization, translating the controlinformation into control signals specific to the multi-layered lensmaterial used to fabricate the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles. Two viewers sitting side-by-side and watching the same videoon a digital TV but wearing Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles that have lens material with totally differentcharacteristics, will each see the movie with an illusion of 3Doptimized for their spectacles. It also has the additional advantagethat since a multi-layer lens is used, the transition time betweenoptical density states will be faster than the corresponding transitiontime for a single-layer lens.

The second preferred embodiment of the Optical Density ContinuingAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles use electrochromic lenses.Additional detail about Electrochromism is now provided.

Electrochromism is the phenomenon displayed by some chemicals ofreversibly changing color when an electric potential is applied.Electrochromism has a history dating back to the nineteenth century andthere are thousands of chemical systems that have already beenidentified electrochromic. A narrow definition limits electrochromicdevices to chemical processes for which there is a redox reaction thatundergo an electron uptake reduction or electron release when potentialis applied and the reverse or oxidation with a reverse potential. Mostredox processes are electrochromic and are candidate electrochromes andpotential 3Deeps lenses. While the preferred embodiments of thisinvention use such narrowly defined electrochromic devices, any devicefor which the transmission of light may be controlled by an electronicpotential may be utilized in the invention. For instance, Liquid CrystalDevice (LCD) lenses may be used in the invention since they may becontrolled by an electronic potential, even though they use a totallydifferent mechanism to control the optical properties of the material.LCDs rely on an interference effect (block the transmission of light),while the narrow definition of electrochromic device is limited tomaterials that rely on a redox reaction to change the color of thematerial. Either redox or LCD material, or any material for which thetransmission of light may be controlled by an electronic potential canbe advantageously utilized in the invention.

There are many different families of chemicals that exhibit suchproperties—both organic and inorganic. These include but are not limitedto polyaniline, viologens, polyoxotungstates's and tungsten oxide.Oxides of many transition metals are electrochromic including cerium,chromium, cobalt, copper, iridium, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel,niobium, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, tantalum, titanium, tungsten,and vanadium. Within each family, different mixtures of chemicalsproduce different properties that affect the color, transmissivity, andtransition time. Some electrochromics may only affect ultravioletlight—not visible light—appearing clear to an observer since they do notaffect visible light. Electrochromics have been the object of intensestudy for over 40 years, and have found their chief commercial successfor use in “smart windows” where they can reliably control the amount oflight and heat allowed to pass through windows, and has also been usedin the automobile industry to automatically tint rear-view mirrors invarious lighting conditions.

Other embodiments of the inventions may advantageously usemultiple-color electrochromic devices or materials that exhibitelectropolychromism. Some electrochromic devices may take a whole seriesof different colors, each colored state generated at a characteristicapplied potential. One example is methyl viologen, which has electronpotential states that are correspondingly colorless, blue, andred-brown. Electrochromic viologens have been synthesized with as manyas six different colors.

The operating characteristics of each formulation of any of thethousands of different electrochromic material will be different. Someof the operating characteristics that should be considered whenselecting materials for 3Deeps lenses include; Response time (the timerequired to change from its clear to darkened state or vice versa);Power consumption; Memory effect (when power is off between write cyclesthere is no redox process and the electrochromic material retains itsoptical properties); Coloration efficiency (the amount of electrochromicdarkening formed by the charge); Cycle life (The number of write-erasecycles that can be performed before any noticeable degradation hasoccurred); and, write-erase efficiency (the fraction of the originallyformed darkening that can be subsequently electro-cleared. For 3Deepsviewing spectacles this should be 100%).

The operating characteristics of each formulation of any of the 1000s ofdifferent electrochromic material will be different. FIG. 9 shows atypical Operating Characteristic curve relating transmissivity (%transmission of light) to transmission time when a potential of 2 voltsis applied across the electrochromic device. Some electrochromicmaterials may take several seconds to change state from one opticaldensity to another—others may be near instantaneous. For manyelectrochromic materials the color change is persistent and electricpotential need only be applied to effect a change. For such persistentoptoelectronic materials, only an electronic on-off pulse is needed,while non-persistent materials require the application of a continuingelectronic potential. Other materials may attain state under thepresence of electric potential, but then slowly leak and change back.These materials may require a maintenance potential to maintain statebut one that is different from that to attain the optical density state.

The second preferred embodiment of the Continuing Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles is fabricated from a persistent electrochromicmaterial (material that has a so-called memory effect) that takes up to1.85 seconds to change state from its lightest to darkest opticaldensity, and up to 1.85 seconds to change state from its lightest todarkest optical density. In moving between states the preferredembodiment will always seek to optimize transition time.

While electrochromic material is used in the second preferred embodimentof the optical density Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles,any optoelectronic materials that change optical density in response toan applied potential may be used. This includes but is not limited toPDLCs (Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal devices) or SPDs (SuspendedParticle Devices.) In the future, new optoelectronic materials will bediscovered and may be advantageously used in the practice of thisinvention.

FIG. 9 is a transition time curve 900 for a single layer ofelectrochromic material with transition time as a function oftransmissivity when a potential of 2.0V is applied to the electrochromicmaterial. It is for a slow electrochromic material with transition time902 as a function of transmissivity 901 (or percent transmission oflight). This transition time curve 900 has a lightest state 906 with atransmissivity of 100% density (clear) and its darkest state 905 is 0%in which all light is blocked from passing through the electrochromicmaterial. The electrochromic material cannot however attain either ofthe extreme values (0% or 100%) of transmissivity. The OperatingCharacteristic curve 903 shows a material that can attain about 99%transmissivity 904 (almost clear) and 10% transmissivity 915 (almostdark). The material can then take any optical density in between theblocking only 1% of the light (99% transmissivity) and blocking 90% oflight (10% transmissivity) by the application of 2V for the properlength of time. If the material is in its clearest state 904, and, and a2V potential is applied to the material, it will take about 1.8 secondsto change state and achieve its darkest state 915 or 10% transmissivity.This is shown on the transition time curve 903 of the OperatingCharacteristic of the material in FIG. 9.

As another example, if the material is in its clearest state 904, andthe control signal 110 received on the frames receiving unit 102indicates that the subject lens should change to an optical densityassociated with transmissivity of 70% 923, then the transition timecurve 903 would be implemented by the control unit 103 to apply 2Vpotential to the lens for 1.35 seconds. A value of 70% 923transmissivity intercepts the Operating Characteristic curve 903 at apoint on the curve 921 that corresponds to a transition time 922 of 1.35seconds. Once a potential of 2V has been applied for 1.35 seconds, nopotential need further be applied since the electrochromic lens willlatch in the new state.

This is an example of how an algorithm implemented in the Control Unit103 of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles with a singlelayer of lens material (FIG. 1-4) would use the transition time curve903 to control the right lens 105 and the left lens 106. To transition alens from and optical density associated with a clear state 904 to theoptical density associated with a transmissivity of 70% the Control Unit103 would apply 2V potential to the lens for 1.35 seconds.

This is a simplified example for illustrative and teaching purposes.Other electrochromic materials may have other operating characteristicsthat have characteristic exponential, negative exponential, or logistic(s-shaped) relationships. In this example, 2V potential is used to movebetween states. It is used under the assumptions that (a) for thiselectrochromic formulation the higher the electronic potential the morerapid will be the change from a lighter to a darker optical density, and(b) change of state from a lighter to a darker optical density is to beoptimized. Other materials may require different potentials to beapplied to move from between states. In any of these cases, theprinciple of operation is identical and the Control Unit 103 on theframes of the lenses uses the operating characteristics of the materialused in the right 105 and left 106 lenses to determine the potential andthe length of time the potential is to be applied to transition betweenlens control states.

FIG. 10 is a transition time curve 1000 for a double layer (multi-layer)of electrochromic material with transition time as a function oftransmissivity. FIG. 10 is similar to FIG. 9 with the addition of asecond Operating Characteristic curve 1003. The numbered elements ofFIG. 10 have the same description as their like numbered elements ofFIG. 9. The Operating Characteristic curve for the double layer 1003(multi-layer) lenses of the preferred embodiment are shown along withthe Operating Characteristic curve of the single layer 903 to betteremphasize the transition time Benefit and Loss of using the double layerof electrochromic material. The example shows that doubling the lensmaterial results in a 44% decrease in Transmission Time (Benefit) whenmoving from a clear to a 70% transmissivity state for only a 1% loss inthe Clear State (Loss).

As an example, if the multi-layer material is in its clearest state1015, and the control signal 110 received on the frames receiving unit102 indicates that the subject lens should change to an optical densityassociated with transmissivity of 70% 923, then the transition timecurve 1003 would be implemented by the control unit 503 to apply 2Vpotential to the lens for 0.75 seconds. A value of 70% 923transmissivity intercepts the Operating Characteristic curve 1003 at apoint on the curve 1011 that corresponds to a transition time 1012 of0.75 seconds. Once a potential of 2V has been applied for 0.75 seconds,no potential need further be applied since the electrochromic lens willlatch in the new state.

In summary, for a single layer lens then, to move from a clear state toa 70% transmissivity state 2V potential is applied for 1.35 seconds to asingle layer material. For the double layer lens of the preferredembodiment to move from a clear state to a 70% transmissivity state 2Vpotential is applied for 0.75 seconds. Using two layers ofelectrochromic material results in a beneficial 44% decrease intransmission time for only a 1% loss in the clear state.

A Third Preferred Embodiment of the Invention

It has previously been observed in this disclosure that the lens stateconsisting of both left and the right lens darkened is not used by anyof the 3Deeps spectacles. The third preferred embodiment of theinvention uses this lens state that is not used by any of various 3Deepsspectacles previously described, and extends the first preferredembodiment (single layer Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles)so they may also be switch selectable to function as sunglasses.

In particular, a switch 1101 is added to the Continuous Adjustable3Deeps Filter Spectacles described in FIG. 1. In a first switch positionthe spectacles operate precisely as described in the first preferredembodiment. In a second switch position the spectacles operate assunglasses. Toggling the switch changes the spectacles to operate withthe switched characteristics. The lenses of the third preferredembodiment are single-layer, and are precisely the same as described inFIG. 2a and FIG. 2b . The control unit 103 of the first preferredembodiment is modified and presented as a new Control Unit 1103. Thiscontrol unit takes as an additional input the position of the selectionSwitch 1101. If the Switch is positioned so the spectacles operate asContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles then the Control Unitcontrols the lenses of the spectacles in precisely the same fashion asprevious described in FIG. 4. If the Switch is positioned so that thespectacles operate as sunglasses, then the Control Unit controls thelenses so that they both take the same pre-specified dark opticaldensity and operate as ordinary sunglasses.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view 1100 of the third preferred embodiment ofthe Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 1150 withsingle-layered lenses. The difference between the single-layered lensesof FIG. 1 and FIG. 11 is that in the third preferred embodiment aselection Switch 1101 has been added to the spectacles, and the controlunit 1103 has been expanded to include control of the sunglasses. Alllike numbered items in FIG. 11 and FIG. 1 have the same function anddefinition. The selection switch 1101 may take either of two positions.In the first position, the spectacles will operate as ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles precisely as described in the firstpreferred embodiment. In the second position, the spectacles willoperate as sunglasses.

The third preferred embodiment uses lenses identical to the lenses usedin the first preferred embodiment and described in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2 b.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram 1200 of the operation of the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 1150 of FIG. 11 using a singlelayered electrochromic device for fabricating the electronicallycontrolled variable tint material of the right 105 and left lenses 106.All circuits on the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 1150are powered 301 by the battery 104, including the Control Unit 1103,Signal Receiving Unit 102, the Left Lens 106, and the Right Lens 105.The control information 110 is received by the Signal Receiving Unit 102and sent 302 to the Control Unit 1103. The switch 1101 position is alsopowered 301 by the battery 104, and its position is output to theControl Unit 1103. The Control Unit 1103 implements an algorithm that isspecific for the multi-use (Use 1: 3Deeps spectacles or Use 2:sunglasses) single-layered Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles, and controls the Left Lens 106 with a control circuit 1203,and the Right Lens 105 with a control circuit 1205.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart 1300 showing the operation of the Control Unit1103 of the multi-use Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles1150 with single-layered lenses. The switch position 1202 is input tothe Control Unit 1103 and processing commences with Switch 1 or Switch 21370 that can parse the switch position and determine which position theSwitch 1101 is in. If the Switch position is in the first position thenthe control processing 103 is used. This is the same as the controlprocessing for the First Preferred Embodiment and is described in FIG.4. Only the input and output to the control processing 103 is shown inFIG. 13—not the details of the processing that is the same as shown inFIG. 4. If the Switch position is in the second position then thecontrol processing 1240 for sunglasses is used. Pre-selected Opticaldensities for the left lens 106 and right lens 105 are stored in thecontroller as the Left OD 1311 and the Right OD 1313. First the Right OD1313 is read by the Right Lens Control processing 1317 and an electronicsignal is issued on circuit 1205 to change the Right Lens 105 to thatassociated Optical Density. Processing then passes to the Left LensControl 1315 that reads the pre-stored value Left OD 1311 and anelectronic signal is issued on circuit 1203 to change the Left Len 106to that associated value.

This exemplary Control Unit 1103 has been purposely simplified forclarity and to show the principles of the control operation. It showstwo separate control circuits—the first 103 for control of ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, and the second 1240 for control ofsunglasses. The Control Unit 1103 has two separate memory storages forthe Left and Right optical densities. It should be understood that goodengineering design would reuse as much circuitry as possible for twocontrolling functions of the Control Unit 1103. So for instance, anotherimplementation of the Control Unit 1103 may only have a single memorystorage for the Left and Right optical densities that are used by boththe circuitry controlling the 3Deeps Filter Spectacles and the circuitrycontrolling the sunglasses.

A Fourth Preferred Embodiment of the Invention

In the second preferred embodiment of the invention the right and leftlenses of the 3Deeps spectacles are fabricated from multiple layers ofthe same electrochromic material. In a fourth preferred embodiment ofthe invention, the lenses are fabricated from two layers withelectrochromic devices that have different optical characteristics. Inthis fourth preferred embodiment of the invention the first layer ofelectrochromic uses the same material to fabricate the lenses as haspreviously been described—a neutral density filters that block thetransmission of light approximately equally along the entire visiblespectrum. The second layer uses electrochromic material that can beelectronically controlled so the left lens is clear or can be set toallow transmission of light in the visible red spectrum and the rightlens is clear or can be set to allow the transmission of light in thevisible blue spectrum. The two layers of material are switch selectableso that either of the layers may be activated, but not both layers atthe same time. These Multi-Use Electrically Controlled ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles thus are switch selectable so theycan be used to watch 2D (single image viewed by right and left eyes)movies in 3D using the 3Deeps methodology or alternatively to watchspecially made 3D movies (separate left and right images) formatted foranaglyph 3D viewing.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view 1400 of the fourth preferred embodiment ofthe Multi-Use Electrically Controlled Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles 1450. Like numbered items in FIG. 5 and FIG. 1 havethe same function and definition. The primary difference between thisembodiment and previous embodiments is in the use of differentelectrochromic devices for the layers of the lenses (described furtherin FIG. 15a and FIG. 15b ), and in the Control Unit 1403 that controlsthe operation of the spectacles based on the position of the Switch1101. The toggle switch 1101 allows either the first layer 411 of themulti-use 3Deeps spectacles 1450 to be activated (3Deeps method ofviewing 3D) or it allows the second layer 1501 of the multi-use 3Deepsspectacles to be activated (anaglyph 3D viewing.) In this fourthpreferred embodiment of the invention, only one layer may be activatedat a time. Other embodiments may allow more than one layer of materialto be active at one time. The control unit 1403 has all thefunctionality of control unit 103 when the first layer is active. Whenthe first layer is active both lenses of the second layer are set totheir clear state. When the second layer of is activated the controlunit 1403 will run a control program specific to the control of anaglyph3D viewing. In particular when the second layer is activated foranaglyph viewing, both lenses of the first layer of material are set totheir clear state, and the left lens 1406 of the second layer is set toa red and the right lens 1405 of the second layer is set to blue. Thisstate is maintained throughout the viewing of the anaglyph 3D movie andno additional switch of state is required of the control program as isthe case with 3Deeps viewing. In this way the left lens is red and theright lens is blue as required for anaglyph 3D movies.

FIG. 15a 1500 shows a left lens 1006 of Multi-Use ElectricallyControlled Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles fabricatedfrom multiple layers of electrochromic material. Its fabrication usingelectrochromic material is shown in adjoining FIG. 15b . Since only asingle layer of insulating glass material will be required between thedifferent layers of the multi-layered electrochromic lens, the drawingof the top layer is slightly different than that of FIG. 2a to emphasizethat only one layer of such insulating material is necessary. FIG. 15atherefore shows the lens 1006 as two layers where the first active layer411 is separated by the second active layer 1501 by an insulating layer410. The first active layer 411 and the insulating layer 410 comprisethe single layer lens 106 of FIG. 2 a.

FIG. 15b 1525 shows the cross-sectional details of the Multi-useelectrochromic device of FIG. 15a for fabricating the electronicallycontrolled variable tint material of the right and left lenses of theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles using multiple layers ofelectrochromic material. The 7 layers of the electrochromic left lens106 of FIG. 2a are shown in FIG. 15b as the 6 active layers 411, and the(seventh) insulating layer 201. Each layer is identical to their likenumbered description accompanying FIG. 2b . A second active layer 1501is included in the multi-layered electrochromic lens. In this fourthpreferred embodiment of the invention, the second layer 1501 of the lensis fabricated from electrochromic material that is totally differentfrom the neutral density electrochromic material of the first layer.This second layer of electrochromic material will have its own OperatingCharacteristic curve and electronically control properties of lightdifferently from that of the first layer.

In particular, FIG. 15b shows the left lens 1406 of the Multi-UseElectrically Controlled Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacleswith a second layer of electrochromic material. The second layer isfabricated from electrochromic material that can be electronicallycontrolled to allow the transmission of light in the clear or visiblered spectrum. (A right lens that is not shown would be fabricated fromelectrochromic material that can be electronically controlled to allowthe transmission of light in the clear or visible blue spectrum.) Thesecond multi-layer of electrochromics of the multi-use lens is made from6 layers of material. The top layer 1501 is made from an insulting layerof glass, plastic or other clear insulating material. This is followedby layer 1502 of a conducting layer, followed by a third layer 1603 ofpolymer. A fourth layer 1504 provides the ion transport whose directionis determined by the application of potential across the conductinglayers. The fifth layer 1505 is the complementary polymer layer, and isthen followed by another conducting layer 1506. The polymer layers 1503and complimentary polymer layer 1505 provide the electronicallycontrollable tinting of the lens as either clear or red. The rightlens—not shown—would have polymer and complimentary polymer layers toprovide electronically controllable tinting for the right lens as eitherclear or blue.

TABLE 1 shows the different types of Optoelectronic materials that maybe used in the fabrication of Multi-Use Electrically ControlledContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. The first column of theTABLE 1 is a numbering of the methods—but no preference is to attributedto the ordering. The Method Number is used for reference in thedisclosure. The second column of TABLE 1 labeled Viewing Method and isthe type of viewing that may be attained through the use of theassociated optoelectronic device that is described in the third columnof TABLE 1. The third column of TABLE 1 labeled OptoElectronic Device isa brief description of the controllable optical characteristic necessaryto achieve the associated viewing method.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Method No. Viewing Method OptoElectronic Device 13Deeps movies (2D Single or multi-layers variable tint images viewed as3D) device 2 Anaglyph 3D movies Right Lens Blue; Left Len Red device 3Intru3D 3D movies Right Lens Blue; Left Lens Amber device 4 Optimumemissive colors Optimized to emissive colors of TV of TV phosphors (forMethods 1, 2, 3) 5 Polarized Lenses 3D Right and left lenses at 90%movies polarization device 6 Vision correction Near- or far-sightednesscorrection device 7 Shutter glasses Rapid shuttering between clear andtotally dark device 8 Sunglasses Single layer variable tint device 9Optical property of Electro Optical control of a property light (orproperties) of light

With respect to the Method No. 1 of the table, the use of anelectrochromic optoelectronic device for viewing 3Deeps movies with asingle-layer of variable tint lenses has been previously described inthe first preferred embodiment of the invention, and the use of anelectrochromic optoelectronic device for viewing 3Deeps movies withmulti-layers of variable tint lenses has been previously described inthe second preferred embodiment of the invention. With respect to MethodNo. 2 of the table, the use of an electrochromic optoelectronic devicefor viewing anaglyph 3D movies (left lens red and right lens blue) withMulti-Use Electrically Controlled 3Deeps Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles has been previously described in the third preferredembodiment of the invention.

The Multi-Use Electrically Controlled 3Deeps Continuous Adjustable3Deeps Filter Spectacles described may also replace the layers ofmaterials described or add additional layers of materials (withcorresponding changes to the manual switches of the spectacles and thecontrol program) to achieve other methods of electronically assistedviewing spectacles. Such methods may include; Intru3D 3D movies (MethodNo. 3) with left lens amber and right lens blue; optoelectronic devices(Method No. 4) that are tuned to the optimum emissive colors of a TVphosphor; optoelectronic devices (Method No. 5) that allow viewing of 3Dmovies using polarized lenses in which the right and left lenses havepolarizations that are perpendicular to each other; optoelectronicdevices that provide prescription glasses that correct vision such asnear- or far-sightedness (Method No. 6); optoelectronic devices thatallow viewing of 3D movies by the shutter glass method (Method No. 7) inwhich there is rapid shuttering between a clear and totally dark statefor one eye, while the other eye has corresponding states of totallydark and clear in synchronization with right and left images of thedisplayed motion picture. The spectacles have a layer (Method No. 8)that when activated provides sunglasses. Any other optical property oflight that can be beneficially controlled by an optoelectronic device(Method No. 9) can be used as a layer of the Multi-Use ElectricallyControlled 3Deeps Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. Insome embodiments of the invention several methods may be operable at thesame time as when Vision correction optoelectronics (Method No. 6) isactive at the same time as any of the methods for viewing 3D movies.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram 1600 of the operation of the multi-useContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 1450 with multi-layeredlenses. All circuits on the multi-use Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles 1450 are powered 301 by the battery 104, including theControl Unit 1403, Signal Receiving Unit 102, the Left Lens 1406, andthe Right Lens 1405. The control information 110 is received by theSignal Receiving Unit 102 and sent 302 to the Control Unit 1403. Theswitch 1101 position is also powered 301 by the battery 104, and itsposition is output 1202 to the Control Unit 1403. The Control Unit 1403implements an algorithm that is specific for the multi-use (Use 1:3Deeps spectacles or Use 2: Anaglyph 3D viewing) multi-layeredContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, and controls the LeftLens 1406 with a control circuit 1603, and the Right Lens 1405 with acontrol circuit 1605.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart 1700 showing the operation of the Control Unit1403 of the Multi-Use Electrically Controlled Continuous Adjustable3Deeps Filter Spectacles 1450 with multi-layered electrochromic lenses.The switch position 1202 is input to the Control Unit 1403. Processingcommences with Change both right and left lens of layer land 2 to clear1761 by switching both the right lens 1505 and left lens 1506 of thefirst electrochromic layer 411 and the second electrochromic layer 1501to clear. Processing is then transferred to a control circuit Switch 1or Switch 2 1763 that can parse the switch position and determine whichposition the Switch 1101 is in. If the Switch position is in the firstposition (3Deeps viewing) then a first control processing unit 103 isused to control the first layer 411 of the lenses of the Multi-UseElectrically Controlled Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles1450. If the Switch position is in the second position (anaglyphviewing) then a second control processing unit 103 a that is similar tothe control processing unit 103 shown in FIG. 4) is used to control thesecond layer 1501 of the lenses of the Multi-Use Electrically ControlledContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 1450.

The two control processing units 103 and 103 a of the Control Unit 1403are the same as the control processing unit for the First PreferredEmbodiment and is described in FIG. 4. The first control processing unitcontrols the spectacles for 3Deeps viewing and the second controlprocessing unit control the spectacles for anaglyph 3D viewing. Only theinput and output to the control processing 103 is shown in FIG. 17—notthe details of the processing that is the same as shown in FIG. 4.

If the Switch position is in the first position then the controlprocessing unit electronically synchronizes to the movie using 3Deepstechnology by controlling the left 1406 and right lenses 1405 of thefirst layer 411 of the multi-use Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles 1450 over the control circuits for the left lens 1603 andcontrol circuit for the right lens 1605. In this case the second layer1501 has been set so both right and left lenses of the second layer areclear. If the Switch position is in the second position then the controlprocessing unit electronically controls the 3Deeps spectacles foranaglyph 3D viewing by switching the left lens 1406 to red and rightlens 1405 to blue of the second layer 1501 of the multi-use ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 1450 over the control circuits forthe left lens 1603 and control circuit for the right lens 1605. In thiscase the first layer 411 has been set so both right and left lenses ofthe first layer are clear.

This exemplary Control Unit 1403 has been purposely simplified forclarity and to show the principles of the control operation. It showstwo separate control circuits 103 and 103 a—the first 103 controlcircuit for control of Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles(first layer 411), and the second 103 a control circuit for anaglyph 3Dviewing (second layer 1501). FIG. 17 shows each circuit 103 and 103 awith its own circuits for control of the left lens 1406 and control ofthe right lens 1405. It should be understood that good engineeringdesign would reuse as much circuitry as possible for two controllingfunctions of the Control Unit 1403.

TABLE 2 shows control information for Multi-Use Electrically ControlledContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. Such control informationis necessary when the Multi-Use Electrically Controlled ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles are under remote control rather thana manually control 1101 as shown in FIG. 14.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Method Control No. Viewing Method Code ControlInformation 1 3Deeps movies (2D Ctrl-1 Optical Density for left imagesviewed as 3D) and right lens 2 Anaglyph 3D movies Ctrl-2 None 3 Intru3D3D movies Ctrl-3 None 4 Optimum emissive colors Ctrl-4 Real-time settingof TV phosphors optical density of (for Methods 1, 2, 3) right and leftlens 5 Polarized Lenses 3D Ctrl-5 None movies 6 Vision correction Ctrl-6Real-time optical property of density of right and left lens 7 Shutterglasses Ctrl-7 Shutter synchronization 8 Sunglasses Ctrl-8 Real-timesetting of sunglass color of right and left lens 9 Optical property ofCtrl-9 Optical property of light right and left lens

Control information for Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacleshas been previously shown in the related patent application Ser. No.12/274,752. In that related disclosure no multi-layer or multi-useinformation was required of the spectacle control protocol since theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles had only a single-layerand a single-use. With Multi-Use Electrically Controlled ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles that are under remote control, acontrol code sequence may be transmitted to signal the Control Unit1403—which layer of the multi-layered spectacles the controllinginformation references.

The first column of the TABLE 2 is a numbering of the methods—but nopreference is to attributed to the ordering. The Method Number is usedfor reference in the disclosure. The second column of TABLE 2 labeledViewing Method identifies the viewing method. Columns 1 and 2 of TABLE 2are the same as in the like labeled column of TABLE 1. The third columnof TABLE 2 labeled Control Code has the control code in the RF sequencethat is utilized by the Control Unit 1403 to switch control to theassociated lens. For instance, when the Multi-Use ElectricallyControlled Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles of FIG. 10,receive a Ctrl-2 sequence it switch to control of the associatedmethod—in this can Anaglyph 3D movies. Once the Multi-Use ElectricallyControlled Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles have receiveda Control Code sequence, all the control information that then followswill be interpreted to control the associated method. In the currentexample where a Ctrl-2 sequence is received switching the spectaclesinto Anaglyph 3D mode, all follow-on control information received by thespectacles would be interpreted to as controlling the Anaglyph 3Dspectacle method and lens layer. Such follow-on control informationreferences the switched method until another control-code is received.

A description of the contents of the Follow-on control informationassociated with each of the viewing methods is indicated in column 4 ofthe table, labeled Control Information. When the Control Unit 1403 ofthe spectacles receive a Ctrl-2 sequence indicating it is to switch toanaglyph mode, the control unit 1403 changes the left lens 1406 to a redand the right lens 1405 to a blue color. The spectacles stay in thismode until another CTRL-code is received switching the spectacles toanother method. Since the Anaglyph method, activated by Control Code,CTRL-2 requires no further or follow-on controlling information, theentry for Anaglyph in the Control Information column is None indicatingthat no further control information is required for the Anaglyph mode.Similarly, no additional control information is required for Intru3D 3Dmovies; and, Polarized lenses. Control Information is required formethods 3Deeps Movies; Optimum emissive colors of TV; Vision correction;shutter glasses; sunglasses; and, Optical Property of Light.

The control information that is received wirelessly 102 by the Multi-UseElectrically Controlled Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectaclesof FIG. 14 may be transmitted by any of the means disclosed in therelated patent applications including but not limited to; DVD-basedcontrol units; Digital Movie Projector control units; Television-basedcontrol units, hand-held and operated control units; spectacle-basedcontrol units, and cell-phone based control units.

Other Embodiments

While the preferred embodiments have been described using electrochromicmaterials, other electro-optical (optoelectronics) materials may beutilized. Any material for which the optical properties can becontrolled by the application of a potential across the material may beadvantageously used in the invention.

While the preferred embodiment uses 2 layers of electrochromicmaterials, even faster switching time can be achieved by using 3 or morelayers.

While the preferred embodiment uses the same voltage applied to each ofthe multi-layers of the lenses, other embodiments may achieve controlover the switching time to the optical optimal density by theapplication of different voltage across each layer of the multi-layeredlenses of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter spectacles.

In some embodiments of the invention, several different layers ofmulti-use-electronic materials may be switch selectable and active atthe same time to achieve different optical effects. For instanceelectronically controllable vision correction may be combined withContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filtering to provide a single pair ofviewing spectacles that both correct vision while at the same timeproviding optimal 3Deeps viewing of 2D motion pictures as 3D motionpictures.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, rather than useelectrochromic materials that have the same optical properties(transmission OC curve), materials with different optical properties maybe beneficially utilized.

As lenses get older their OC curve may change. In another embodiment thecontrol program may tune the control OC curve based on age or time ofuse so that the spectacles do not appear to degrade in performance asthey get older.

The switch selection for the Multi-Use Electrically ControlledContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles was shown on thespectacles. Alternatively, the switch selection can be activated by theviewing media by broadcasting a Rx signal that is picked up by thereceiving unit of the 3Deeps spectacles 102, passed to the control unitof the spectacles, and which are read and acted upon by the controlprogram that controls the operation of the spectacles. For instance, acontrol code at the beginning of an anaglyph motion picture may allowthe spectacles to respond by taking the proper configuration for viewingof anaglyph 3D encoded motion pictures without any manual interventionby the viewer.

In other embodiment of the invention the multi-layered or multi-uselenses may be in the form of clip-on lenses that readily fit over normalprescription lenses.

In still another embodiment of the invention, multi-use 3Deeps viewingspectacles are fabricated from a single layer of an electropolychromismdevice.

Previous related patent applications (such as U.S. Pat. No. 7,508,485)have disclosed systems and methods by which a motion estimation valuethat characterizes movement in a frame of a 2D motion picture may beextracted from successive frames of the motion picture. The motionestimation value and a luminance value are used to calculate an opticaldensity for the lens of the Pulfrich Filter spectacles and aretransmitted to the Pulfrich Filter spectacles. The transmitted valuesare used to control the optical density of the lenses of the PulfrichFilter spectacles. In still another embodiments of the invention, themotion estimation value is calculated from the motion estimation valuesthat are part of the MPEG digital video compression standards.

In another embodiment of the invention, the 3Deeps electrochromicsunglasses have additional variable brightness controls. In one case,the sunglasses have means by which the user can set the darkness levelof the sunglasses. That is, rather than a have Pre-selected opticaldensities value for the left lens and right lens stored in the controlunit (as in FIG. 13, the optical density value of the lenses of thesunglasses is under the control of the user. A rotary or slide switchcould be utilized to select any optical density between the low and highvalues of the switch. In another embodiment a multi-pole switch is usedso that user can select one of a set of pre-selected optical densitiesfor the lenses of the sunglasses.

In another embodiment of the invention the 3Deeps electrochromicsunglasses, the variable brightness of the lenses of the sunglassesoperate similarly as an electrochromic version of photochromatic lenses.That is, the optical density of the 3Deeps sunglasses is set inaccordance with a continuum of the ambient surrounding light. In lowlight (dark) there would be a minimum of little or not darkening of thelenses, while in intense sunlight such as at noon on a cloudless sunnyday the lenses would take an extreme dark value. Lighting situationsin-between would result in the optical density values for the lensesin-between the minimum and maximum values. This could be achieved forinstance by incorporating a photodiode on the 3Deeps spectacles thatmeasures the ambient light at the spectacle frames, and inputs thatvalue to the control unit on the spectacles.

In another embodiment of the invention, the Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles may not respond to every synchronization signal. Whilesome electrochromic materials may have been reported that have a cyclelife of up to 50 million changes—and even higher values can beobtained—if the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles are madefrom a material with a shortened cycle life it may be necessary to alsoadditionally consider and optimize for the operation of the spectaclesfor the cycle life. While the synchronization signals would still bebroadcast for every frame, the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles may be set to only process and respond to some of thosechanges so as efficiently use cycle life. This make sense, as scenesthat exhibit movement may be on the order of 10-30 seconds long, orlonger, and the same optical density setting will provide a near-optimalsetting for the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. Toaddress cycle time then, the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles may use a combination of ad-hoc rules such as (a) respondingonly to every nth synchronization event; (b) responding to onlysynchronization events with changes to the optical density of more thana pre-set percent; (c) responding to synchronization events in whichthere is a change to direction of motion; (d) responding tosynchronization events in which there is a change in presence or absenceof motion; (e) scene change, or (f) some other motion picture frameevent.

As noted above, in accordance with certain embodiments, a method isprovided for originating visual illusions of figures and spaces incontinuous movement in any chosen direction using a finite number ofpictures (as few as two pictures) that can be permanently stored andcopied and displayed on motion picture film or electronic media. Themethod of the present invention entails repetitive presentation to theviewer of at least two substantially similar image pictures alternatingwith a third visual interval or bridging picture that is substantiallydissimilar to the other substantially similar pictures in order tocreate the appearance of continuous, seamless and sustained directionalmovement.

Specifically, two or more image pictures are repetitively presentedtogether with a bridging interval (a bridging picture) which ispreferably a solid black or other solid-colored picture, but may also bea strongly contrasting image-picture readily distinguished from the twoor more pictures that are substantially similar. In electronic media,the bridge-picture may simply be a timed unlit-screen pause betweenserial re-appearances of the two or more similar image pictures. Therolling movements of pictorial forms thus created (figures thatuncannily stay in place while maintaining directional movement, and donot move into a further phase of movement until replaced by a new set ofrotating units) is referred to as Eternalisms, and the process ofcomposing such visual events is referred to as Eternalizing.

The three film or video picture-units are arranged to strike the eyessequentially. For example, where A and B are the image pictures and C isthe bridging picture, the picture units are arranged (A, B, C). Thisarrangement is then repeated any number of times, as a continuing“loop”. The view of this continuing loop allows for the perception of aperceptual combining and sustained movement of image pictures (A, B).Naturally, if this loop is placed on a film strip, then it is arrangedand repeated in a linear manner (A, B, C, A, B, C, A, B, C, A, B, C,etc.). The repetition of the sequence provides an illusion of continuousmovement of the image pictures (A, B); with bridging picture (C),preferably in the form of a neutral or black frame, not consciouslynoticed by the viewer at all, except perhaps as a subtle flicker.

A more fluid or natural illusion of continuous movement from a finitenumber of image pictures is provided by using two of each of the threepictures and repeating the cycle of the pairs sequentially, or byblending adjacent pictures together on an additional picture-frame andplacing the blended picture between the pictures in sequential order.The two image pictures (A, B) are now blended with each other to produce(A/B); the two image pictures are also blended with the bridging pictureto produce (C/A and B/C), and then all pictures repeat in a seriesstarting with the bridging picture (C, C/A, A, A/B, B, B/C) each blendedpicture being represented by the two letters with a slash therebetween).This series is repeated a plurality of times to sustain the illusion aslong as desired. Repeating the sequence with additional blended framesprovides more fluid illusion of continuous movement of the (opticallycombined) two image pictures (A, B).

Additionally, various arrangements of the pictures and the blends can beemployed in the present invention and need not be the same each time. Byvarying the order of pictures in the sequence, the beat or rhythm of thepictures is changed. For example, A, B, C can be followed by A, A/B, B,B/C, C which in turn is followed by A, A, A/B, B, B, B, B/C, C, C, C, C,i.e. A, B, C, A, A/B, B, B/C, C, A, A, A/B, B, B, B, B/C, B/C, C, C, C,C, A, B, C, A, etc.

With A and B frames being similar images (such as a pair of normaltwo-eye perspective views of a three-dimensional scene from life), andframe C a contrasting frame (preferably a solid-color picture instead ofan image-picture) relative to A,B, frame C acts as essentially a“bridge-interval” placed between recurrences of A,B. Any color can beused for the contrasting frame C: for example, blue, white, green;however, black is usually preferred. The contrasting frame can also bechosen from one of the colors in one of the two image pictures. Forexample, if one of the image pictures has a large patch of dark blue,then the color of the contrasting frame, bridging picture, may be darkblue.

Blending of the pictures is accomplished in any manner which allows forboth pictures to be merged in the same picture frame. Thus, the term“blending” as used in the specification and claims can also be calledsuperimposing, since one picture is merged with the other picture.Blending is done in a conventional manner using conventional equipment,suitably, photographic means, a computer, an optical printer, or a rearscreen projection device. For animated art, the blending can be done byhand as in hand drawing or hand painting. Preferably, a computer isused. Suitable software programs include Adobe Photoshop, Media 100 andAdobe After Affects. Good results have been obtained with Media 100 fromMultimedia Group Data Translations, Inc. of Marlborough, Mass., USA.

When using Media 100, suitable techniques include additive dissolving,cross-dissolving, and dissolving-fast fix and dither dissolving.

In blending the pictures, it is preferred to use 50% of one and 50% ofthe other. However, the blending can be done on a sliding scale, forexample with three blended pictures, a sliding scale of quarters, i.e.75% A/25% B, 50% A/50% B, 25% A/75% B. Good results have been obtainedwith a 50%/50% mix, i.e. a blend of 50% A/50% B.

The two image pictures, A and B, which are visually similar to eachother, are preferably taken from side-by-side frame exposures from amotion picture film of an object or image or that is moving such thatwhen one is overlaid with the other, only a slight difference is notedbetween the two images.

Alternatively, the two image pictures are identical except that one isoff-center from the other. The direction of the off-center, e.g. up,down, right, or left, will determine which direction the series providesthe appearance of movement, e.g. if image picture B is off-center fromimage picture A to the right of A, the series of C, C/A, A, A/B, B, B/Cwill have the appearance of moving from left to right. Likewise, if youreverse the order of appearance then the appearance of movement will beto the left.

More than two image pictures can be used in the invention. Likewise,more than one bridging picture can be used in the present invention. Forexample, four image pictures can be used along with one bridgingpicture. In this case, the series for the four image pictures,designated A, B, D and E, would be: C, A, B, D, E; or a 50/50 blend C,C/A, A, A/B, B, B/D, D, D/E, E, E/C; or side-by-side pairs, C, C, A, A,B, B, D, D, E, E.

The image picture need not fill the picture frame. Furthermore, morethan one image picture can be employed per frame. Thus, the pictureframe can contain a cluster of images and the image or images need notnecessarily filling up the entire frame. Also, only portions of imagepictures can be used to form the image used in the present invention.

Also, image pictures and portions of the image picture can be combinedsuch that the combination is used as the second image picture. Theportion of the image picture is offset from the first image picture whenthey are combined such that there is an appearance of movement. Forexample, a window from image picture A can be moved slightly while thebackground remains the same, the picture with the moved window isdesignated image picture B and the two combined to create the appearanceof the window moving and/or enlarging or shrinking in size. In thiscase, both picture A and picture B are identical except for theplacement of the window in the image picture. The same can also be doneby using an identical background in both image pictures andsuperimposing on both pictures an image which is positioned slightlydifferent in each picture. The image could be a window, as before, of aman walking, for example.

The number of series which are put together can be finite if it is madeon a length of film or infinite if it is set on a continuous cycle orloop wherein it repeats itself.

Broadly, an embodiment of the invention is a method for creating anappearance of continuous movement with a plurality of picture framesusing three or more pictures, said method comprising: a) selecting atleast two image pictures, a first image picture and a second imagepicture, which are visually similar; b) selecting a bridging picturewhich is dissimilar to said image pictures; c) arranging said picturesin a sequential order to create a first series of pictures, saidsequential order being one or more first image pictures, one or moresecond image pictures, one or more bridging pictures; d) placing saidfirst series of pictures on a plurality of picture frames wherein eachpicture of said first series is placed on a single frame; and e)repeating the first series of pictures a plurality of times to create acontinuous plurality of picture frames having said first series thereon,such that when said plurality of picture frames are viewed, anappearance of continuous movement is perceived by a viewer.

Preferably, step (c) is replaced with the steps comprising: (c1)blending said first image picture with said bridging picture to obtainone or more blended first-bridging picture; (c2) blending said firstimage picture with said second image picture to obtain one or moreblended first-second picture; (c3) blending said second image picturewith said bridging picture to obtain one or more blended second-bridgingpicture; (c4) arranging said pictures in a sequential order of one ormore bridging pictures, one or more of said blended first-bridgingpicture, one or more of said first image picture, one or more of saidblended first-second pictures, one or more of said second image picture,one or more of said blended second-bridging picture to create a firstseries of pictures.

An artificial 3-D image can be achieved by the present invention, aswill be described in more detail below. Another way to obtain anartificial 3-D image is by a method of electronic switching of Pulfrichlight-filtering before right or left eye, synchronized with screenaction.

The start or end of the sequences doesn't matter since the sequence isplaced in a continuous loop, however, the order of the pictures in theloop is critical in the practice of the present invention.

FIG. 18a illustrates three pictures that are employed in a method inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention. Picture A, illustratedwith lines slanting upward left to right, and Picture B, illustratedwith lines slanting downward from left to right. Both pictures A and Bare single frame photographs such as two side-by-side frames taken froma movie film showing movement of an object, for example, a woman walkingdown a street or a man walking his dog. Such side-by-side frames wouldbe similar to each other but not identical. Picture C is a solid blackpicture.

In FIG. 18b pictures A, B and C are arranged in sequential order, andplaced on picture frames to form a series. In FIG. 18 c this series isthen repeated to produce the appearance of movement by pictures A and B.

Turning to FIG. 19a and the use of blended pictures, the three picturesare combined to produce a blend of CIA, blend of AB and a blend of B/Cby using Adobe Photoshop or another program to make a 50/50 blend of thethree pictures.

In FIG. 19b , all six pictures are placed side-by-side to create aseries and the series is copied to create a continuous orsemi-continuous film video or computer sequence where the series isrepeated a plurality of times as shown in FIG. 19 c.

FIGS. 20a-20c illustrates an alternative three pictures that areemployed in the method of this invention. Picture D and Picture E bothillustrate a capital A, however, in Picture D, the capital A is alignedwith the center of the frame while in Picture E the A is off-set to theright of the center of the frame (exaggerated here to be visible; inactual practice the displacement of figures might be so subtle as to notbe discernable as illustrated here). Picture C is identical to Picture Cin FIG. 18 a.

The capital A is chosen for FIGS. 20a-20c for illustration purposes andcould be a single photograph of anything.

The three pictures are placed side-by-side to form a series. Finally,the series is copied a plurality of times to form a repeating series.The repeating series in FIG. 20 c creates the optical illusion that theletter A is moving from left to right and, if one letter A were to beslightly different in size from the other, the letter would appear to bemoving in depth, i.e. given a third dimension.

In FIGS. 20a-20c the background of Picture E is identical to thebackground of Picture D except that the image A is off-set slightly tothe right.

FIGS. 21a-21b illustrates the present invention where the series is twoof each picture placed in side-by-side frames. It has been found thattwo pictures side-by-side are visually equivalent to a blend. In otherwords, a series of A, A, B, B, C, C is visually equivalent to a seriesof C/A, A, A/B, B, B/C, C.

Additionally, a series made in accordance with the present inventionneed not be uniform in that the pictures can be arranged to provide adifferent rhythm or beat to the film. For example, the series could be:C/A, C/A, A, A/B, A/B, B, B, B, B/C, C, C, C. Different arrangementsprovide different visual perceptions.

Furthermore, a plurality of different series can be combined together,i.e. C/A, A, B, B, C with C/A, C/A, A, B, B, C, C to form C/A, A, B, B,C, C/A, C/A, A, B, B, C, C.

FIGS. 22a-22c illustrates the invention where both pictures areidentical except for the position of a superimposed image F on thepictures. Image F could be taken from the original picture G or could betaken from another picture, which is separate and distinct from picturesG and H. For example, pictures G and H could have the common backgroundof a country side road while image F is a man walking his dog. Inpicture G, the man and his dog is placed at one location while onpicture H the man and his dog is placed at a different location on thecountry road. By viewing the repeating of a series of G, H, C, a vieweris given with the impression that the man is walking his dog down theroad, from top of the frame towards the bottom of the frame, appearingto be continually moving in the same direction without changing hisactual position.

Furthermore, image pictures can be identical except that when they arearranged in the frame, one is oriented slightly tilted relative to theother. The repeating series provides the visual perception that thepicture is spinning.

Also, the size of or the orientation of image F in FIGS. 22a-22c can bevaried while maintaining the location of image F. Varying the size givesthe viewer the impression that the man is walking forward or backward,depending on the order in which pictures are arranged. Changing theorientation or tilting of image F leaves the viewer with the impressionthat the man is spinning.

The repeating series can be viewed in any media, it could be digitalizedor placed on conventional film for viewing.

The movement created by the invention is seamless movement, sustainedfluid entirely on-going movement.

Continuous movement means the illusion of a progressive action that cansustain as such into infinite time. For instance, a door beginning toopen, it keeps beginning to open without ever progressing to the stageof actually opening. A door, in reality, in order to repeat this verylimited movement, would have to move back and forth, recoveringterritory in order to go forward again, but in this visual illusion thedoor only moves forward. A normal film or video might approach thiseffect by multiple printing of the picture frames depicting only theforward motion, so that a return motion would be hidden from audienceeyes, but the effect would be of a visual stutter; the action would berepeating, and not continuous. The stutter could be made less obviousand percussive by dissolving head frames of the shot into tail frames,but only with some subject matter (i.e., a waterfall) might the repeatcharacter of the motion not be apparent.

The appearance of transfixed continuous motion (a going without goinganywhere) is created in this invention from a specific employment offlicker, the contrast created by viewing the slight shifting of apictured form or forms between the image pictures in opposition to thebridging picture. Movies have always been dependent for their illusionof continuity on flicker-rates; silent movies filmed at 16 frames persecond required 3-bladed shutters not only to block projection lightduring the successive replacing of frames but also to twice interruptthe display of each frame so as to achieve a flicker rate that theviewer would mistakenly see as uninterrupted light. Slow cranking of thefilm through the projector gave rise to “the flickers” as a pejorative.Video and computer image-continuity depends likewise on rapid on-offdisplay. The present invention purposely makes flicker apparent,utilizing the effects of emphatic flicker on the human optical/nervoussystem to create uncanny time and space illusions.

Simple alternation of a single image picture with intervals of blackness(or any other interrupting color/s) is enough to create subtle illusionsof continual sliding movement across the screen. Alternations of twoimage pictures with an interrupting interval of a solid colored pictureprovides any number of continuous motions, including motion intoillusionistic depth. While such screening-illusions of movement anddepth resemble movements and depths as seen in actuality; this is acreative artistic method and not intended as a reliable way of reportingthe actuality that may have existed in front of a camera.

As noted above, no special viewing devices are required to view thepresent invention, although certain effects can be enhanced or putthrough interesting changes when viewed with a filter intercepting andreducing light to one eye; the Pulfrich Effect.

Remarkably, with the present invention, depth illusions can beexperienced even by the single-eyed person. Normally our perception ofdepth, stereopsis, depends on properly functioning binocular vision, twoeyes working in tandem with each other; one of the benefits of thisinvention is to offer visual depth experience to those deprived of suchexperiences by physical defect. Because contrasting perspectivalinformation is available to both or either eye, a single eye becomessufficient to deliver the information to the brain when employing thepresent invention.

The present invention is best created on the computer, to be viewed onthe computer or transferred to film or any video format. It can also becreated directly onto film or video but the precision control possiblewith the computer is lacking.

The present invention can employ very small shifts in the placement ofobjects as seen in one picture in relationship to another similarpicture. Such small object-placement shifts are also to be found in thesimultaneously exposed pairs of frames made with a stereo still-camera,its two lenses placed horizontally apart approximately the distancebetween human eyes. The stereo still-camera offers object-placementdifferences derived, as with our two eyes, from a fixed interval ofspace: the twin perspectives recorded by lenses 2½ inches apart. Thedegree of inter-ocular distance, as it is called, enormously affects thecharacter of depth to be seen when the stereo-pair is properly viewedone picture to each eye; depth would seem very distorted, either tooshallow or too extended (with other depth aberrations) if the distancebetween our eyes was not being matched by the two-lens stereo-camera.

In contrast to stereo-camera photography, with the single-lens motionpicture camera (film or video), exploitable difference between likeimages arises from the interval of time between picture-exposures,during which the objects filmed shift in spatial relationship to eachother; or/and the camera itself moves, capturing the 3-dimensional scenefrom another perspective, and thus shifting two-dimensional placement ofpictured objects (which may not have moved in actuality) as recordedexposure to exposure. Because distance or direction traversed by thecamera between exposures is not constant, nor movement by subjectsrecorded under photographer control, the visual equation oftwo-dimensional similarities and differences from which 3-dimensionalmovements will be constructed cannot produce scenes as reliablylife-like as can simultaneous stereo-exposures with a fixed horizontaldistance of 2½ inches between a pair of lenses. Eternalism 3-D movementsmade from sequential exposures are not intended to offer scientific datapertaining to reality but instead to provide odd and expressiveimpossible-in-reality impressions.

The stereo still-camera provides a pair of mentally combinable left andright eye flat image pictures; viewed one picture to each eye,similarities and differences are automatically assessed and a semblanceof familiar depth is seen. We gaze from plane to plane into a seemingdepth, the angling of our two eyes crossing for close objects andspreading to parallel alignment for very distant ones (Yet we remainfocused on the same plane in depth, the actual plane of the picturesurface; in life, we constantly refocus as well as angle for differentdistances.) We are not conscious, either in actual life or when lookinginto such artificial depths, of the doubling of forms (as they fall backinto 2-dimensionality) at distances that we are not at the momentangling for. This automatic angling operation of the eyes cannot happenwhen looking with both eyes at the same territory of flat picturesurface. The coinciding of opposing 2-dimensional perspectival viewingsof an object (by which volume can be conceived by the mind) must be donefor the viewer, a task greatly enabled by the computer.

The present invention revolves each set of picture-units in place, butif a figure from one perspective is not placed in a correspondinglysimilar position in its frame (and in matching horizontal alignment)with its representation as recorded from another perspective, there isonly a 2-dimensional jiggering with no volume illusion or continuousdirection of movement created. With the computer, one can slide andplace one picture, or an area of that picture, into exact relationshipwith a matching picture or area so as to achieve the precise effectdesired. (A recorded object becomes an area within a flatpicture-image.) The slightest advance in a particular direction of thecontour of one area in relation to its match-up area determines movementin that direction. Slight shrinking or enlargement of one area comparedto the other creates a zooming in or out effect. A problem in overlayingone entire picture over another in order to match up one area usuallymeans other areas will not coincide, not synchronize; but the computerallows for each area to be matched separately and inlaid into the sceneaccording to one's depth-movement intentions for each area. Thecrazy-quilt artificiality of a scene can be hidden or obvious, its partsdrawn from a single-pair source of related images or from as manysources as desired. Photo-images can be mixed with or replaced by drawnand painted imagery. The scene can imitate real life one moment and veeroff into impossibility the next.

Again, although only two image pictures are usually cycled, more thantwo can be worked into a cycle to create a particular effect. Followingand inventing variants on the directions above, and the formula asdescribed below for sequencing frames, will create the impression ofsolid entities moving in a charmed dimension where normally transientphysical gestures can endure forever. In fact, computer interactivitycan mean the viewer deciding how long the effects of each seriescontinues. Further interactivity will give the viewer the option toplace picture of his/her own choice into this unique cycling system.

FIGS. 23a-23c shows two phases of an action, A & B, plus blackbridge-frame C. We see the pictures separately in FIG. 23a ; madesequentially adjacent to each other in FIG. 23b and presented as arepeating series of pictures, as a loop or cycle, in FIG. 23 c.

FIG. 24a demonstrates the creation of intermediary or blended framesbetween A, B and C, which are 50-50% blends producing A/C, A/B & B/C.FIG. 24b shows them in sequence and FIG. 24c shows them repeating as anongoing loop.

FIG. 25a shows one figure in isolation, removed from the previous scene.Pictures D & E may appear identical but are actually two differentperspectives which together make possible a 3-dimensional figure. Whilethe recording camera remained in a fixed position the figure movedbefore it, frame after frame, making two perspectives possible. Becausethe figure moved to different positions in the two film frames, it wasnecessary to move one figure in one frame so that both figures wouldoccupy the same location in both frames. It is now possible to see themas a single 3-dimensional figure when the frames cycle in quicksuccession together with the bridge frame as shown in FIGS. 25b and 25c.

FIGS. 26a and 26b represents the doubling of each frame in an A, B, Cseries.

FIGS. 27a-27c shows a section of picture G & H is repeated in the upperleft corner. When observed in quick succession this series will show thetwo center figures in one configuration of depth and the inset series asan opposing configuration of depth. Left eye/right eye views as placedin G & H are reversed in the inset figure, so that parts of the figurethat (3-dimensionally) approach the viewer in the larger picture areseen to retreat away from the viewer in the smaller picture, and viceversa.

FIG. 28 illustrates two sets of four; with both similarities (J, K, M)and differences (L, N) between the sets, including in the upper leftcorner an action that straddles bridging frame (M) and picture frame(J). Note the bridging frame is not completely blank or colored. Frame Jhas a smaller frame in the upper left corner of a larger frame and is anexample of a combined frame that may be generated by stitching a firstframe and a second frame together.

FIG. 29 illustrates an example of an Eternalism effect coexisting withmore normal screen action, and of an Eternalism repetition taking placebut with no two frames exactly alike: a visual element (the circle)proceeds frame to frame throughout as it would in a normal movie,unaffected by Eternalism looping. Again, note that the bridging frame isnot completely blank.

FIG. 30 is an illustration of Pulfrich filter spectacles: (1) clear; (2)activated to partly block light reaching figure's right eye; (3)activated to partly bock light reaching figure's left eye. Liquidcrystal reaction is one method of achieving the blocking effect.

Certain embodiments may be described as follows:

In the Pulfrich filter effect, interference by the light-reducing filterhas the effect of retarding the light that does pass through it to theeye. As long as forms and objects are changing position relative to eachother as pictured frame to frame, a delayed picture seen in combinationwith a present-moment picture offers two slightly different picturessimultaneously to the mind. Thus an artificial three-dimensional imagecan be produced by the mind utilizing the same mechanisms that allow it,in viewing actuality, to produce a three-dimensional mental image fromthe pair of two-dimensional perspective-images received fromhorizontally adjacent eyes. The artificial 3-D image can be said todepend on a variable report of actuality. A Pulfrich filter used to viewactual three-dimensional space will distort that space (assuming thescene is in motion). Similarly, depth in a screen image can bedistorted, and in manifold ways, including reversal of near and far anddirection of motion flow. Such distortions can have expressive artisticvalue.

The Pulfrich Effect, triggered (as described above) to accord withpictured directional motion on-screen, would have applications beyonduse with Eternalized movies. Video games and other video moviesfeaturing extended screen movements to left or right could, in manyinstances, be enhanced for viewers by Pulfrich projection intothree-dimensional depth. For many such screen events for instance, ascene filmed or videotaped from a moving vehicle, especiallyperpendicularly, with the camera aimed at or close to a 90 degree anglefrom the side of the vehicle, convincingly realistic deep space wouldresult. A stipulation of realistic deep space, as made available by thePulfrich Effect, is that the partial light-absorbing filter be beforethe eye on the side to which the pictured foreground objects are seen tomove. If filming or videotaping was to be done with the camera aimedperpendicular to a vehicle's path of movement, and the camera was on thedriver's side, motion onscreen would flow screen-left, and the Pulfrichfiltering would therefore have to take place before the left eye; thusthe need to switch dark-filter placement from eye to eye in accordancewith direction of screen movement. The filter works best when there isessentially horizontal movement; when viewing an unmoving orinappropriate image, both left and right eye filters should clear.Presented as electronic media, such images would benefit from timedapplication of appropriate Pulfrich filtering. This aspect of theinvention would allow 3-dimensional movies to be created and presented(less spectacles) with the same cinema technology used for making andpresenting ordinary 2-dimensional movies.

Description of the Eternalism Optical Phenomena

The idea of an interval of action running in place without apparentbeginning, middle and end, forever swelling or turning or rising oropening, forever seeming to evolve without ever actually doing so (untilgiven a determined release into a further phase of development), can beliterally unimaginable, so alien is it to our experience. Neither inlife or on film or in electronic imagery has it been possible to createthe optical illusion of a door forever cracking open or a musclerippling or head turning or any other limited gesture continuing as suchinto potentially unlimited time—until advent of this invention. We havetermed this phenomenon Eternalism, and we speak of pictured forms orobjects, scenes or gesture being Eternalized into Eternalisms. A furtherbenefit of this invention is enhanced 3-Dimensionality of Eternalizedimages, a 3-D that can be reasonably life-like or radically at odds withdepth as we know it.

Consider, for example, the action of a door opening. And select fromthat entire action only the fraction of time that it would take for thedoor to just begin to open, as it cracks open a narrow space alongsidethe doorframe, with the outer edge of the door swinging over little morethan an inch of flooring. Designating this very limited time-spaceinterval as a movie shot. The most minimal movie shot possible, itconsists of only two running frames of film or video.

In reality, there would be no way to sustain into unlimited time thevery limited action of the door cracking open; to keep opening and onlyopening yet never moving past that very limited phase of just crackingopen. This motion is not repeated but sustained. The reality, of course,is that to remain in motion, and in forward motion only, one would haveto move the door to a further phase of motion: the door would have toopen wider. And the designated space-time interval would be left behind.

This is similar to someone walking against the direction of a conveyerbelt walkway (as at an airport) and at exactly the same speed of theconveyer belt, continually walking forward yet getting nowhere. TheEternalism technique is a sort of cinematic conveyer belt moving in anopposing direction to any moving image placed on it.

It is a conveyer belt with a beat, a flicker, a visual beat capable ofsupple changes. In the history of cinema, flicker—referring to visibleintervals of darkness between flashes of successive film-frames,intrusive reminders of the mechanical basis of the cinematicillusion—has been a pejorative term. To commercially entertain, thetechnology needed to quickly outgrow flicker. Yet in doing so some otherillusionistic potentials of the art, very curious departures fromlife-like representation, were never discovered, their expressivepotential left untapped, until now.

Method

Visible flicker is essential to Eternalism technique, which investigatesand utilizes different intensities of emphasis, frame choices andframe-counts of flicker in order to create entirely new illusions toaugment cinema's repertoire of visual effects. Today's audiences areentirely receptive to non-realistic representation, the textures ofvisual technologies are no longer unwelcome onscreen. Visible flickerdoes sometimes appear in movies in purposeful ways, usually representinglightning or machine-gun bursts, and even as rhythmic hits oflight-energy, but not with the methodology and results of Eternalisms.

No less than three basic units, two pictures and a bridge-interval (A,B, C), are necessary to create an Eternalism, even when picture B mightbe only a slight modification, a shifting or size reduction or expansionor tilting, etc. of picture A. On the simplest level, the series ofunits would proceed: A, B, C, A, B, C, A and so on. Each unit intervalmay be of any effective time duration, an effective smooth-workingduration for computer assembling is two frames per unit, shown here asA,A, B,B, C,C, A,A, B,B, C,C, A,A and so on. It is sometimes desired toinsert transitional frames, usually 50/50% (percentage mixture may vary)superimposed frames of adjacent units, shown here as: A, A/B, B, B/C, C,C/A, A and so on.

Additionally, all re-appearances of the basic cycling units comprisingan Eternalism needn't be exactly the same. Strict mechanical repetitioncan give way to flexible variation within the limits imposed by what isnecessary to sustain the motion/depth illusion (unless one chooses toabandon the illusion entirely for a period of time; it is expected thatfor commercial movie use of the method, that the effect would be usedintermittently, for selected scenes). Any number of factors comprising aunit-sequence may be altered from appearance to appearance as it cycles,including colors, shapes, placement of shapes, objects pictures, unitduration, etc., so that the same Eternalism would seem to remain in playwhile going through subtle or even vibrant internal changes, beforebeing replaced by a successive phase of motion or a distinctly otherselection of picture/interval units. Change in the order of units, suchas A, B, C, A, B, C, A being replaced by B, A, C, B, A, C, B wouldinitiate an immediate reversal in direction of pictured movement.Varying durations of units within an Eternalism or traveling fromEternalism to Eternalism may not only make for desired beat and rhythmchanges but also affect the apparent character of motion and/or depth ininteresting ways. A composer of a series may even choose to play againstits smooth continuity by momentary unit-replacement or interjection byother picture units, as for instance: A,A, B,B, C,C, A,D, B,B, C,E,C,A,A. The entire screen may Eternalize with the same sequential rhythm(usually the case) or different parts may sequence with differentrhythms to different pictorial effect.

Many techniques commonly in use in computer and hand-crafted movieanimation can be adapted to Eternalism use. For instance, similar toscreen combinations of photographed reality with animation cartooning,only a section or sections of the screen image may be Eternalized whilenormal movie motion proceeds in other sections. Or a figure in normalmotion may move through an Eternalized scene. Or, among othercombination possibilities, a smaller Eternalism (which can be an objector shape or a separately framed scene) may be imbedded within a largerEternalism, or may float before it, or move—substantial yetghostlike—through it.

Stereo Vision and Special Requirements of Eternalism Composition

Eternalism images may be so composed as to create an impression of3-dimensional volume, designed to appear more or less realistic, butnever with the degree of realism as to fool anyone that they are otherthan images. No one will ever attempt to sink a hand into one to grab atpassing fish as children do at Sony I-MAX. Eternalism depth is readilyapparent and yet more problematic, as is its character of movement.Depth isn't simple there to be taken for granted, but seems constantlycaught in the act of being generated out of flat elements. Eternalism isan illusion of depth. Our minds are given the task of entertainingtogether two conflicting impressions: of things simultaneously appearingboth flat and deep. However, the degree of 3-dimensionality that isthere can be seen without need of special viewing devices of any sort,and in fact can be seen by many persons normally deprived of any3-dimensional vision (those missing sight in one eye, for instance).

Depth as well as ongoing movement must be artificially composed in themaking of Eternalisms. Calculated placement of areas to be brought intoworking correspondence within a picture A and picture B is of paramountimportance.

It does happen that images are recorded on film or in electronic mediathat work effectively enough when sequentially overlayed with each otheras-is, so as to need little or no cut-and-paste rearrangement. But moreoften there are areas not adequately corresponding in sequentiallocation and therefore, when alternated quickly, will merely bounce backand forth from place (in A-frame) to place (in B-frame). In normalstereo-vision ones two eyes angle in and out from parallel alignment asthey match corresponding areas on their two retinal images. Each retinalimage is in fact 2-dimensional; 3-dimension vision is a result of thismuscular matching, this pulling-into-alignment activity performed bymuscles surrounding the eyes (as dictated to by viewers focus ofinterest) activity by the eyes and the mental comparing and processingof like and unlike information sent by each eye to the brain. Onlywithin a very limited interval of actual depth, up to about twenty fivefeet distance for most humans, can we effectively shift and overlayforms so as to discriminate depth accurately (eyes work in parallelbeyond that distance, with greatly reduced depth distinction). Thecloser to the eyes the target of focus, the more the eyes have to cross,and the different degrees or angles of crossing demanded as thingsapproach or recede means that while one layer of depth will be properlyshifted to overlay figures, others will not be. Selective focusing andshift in real-life visual experience, selectively attending to the 3-Dfigures creates in the mind, while ignoring—helped by a “dominanteye”—the remaining non-overlayed and doubled flat figures remaining inthe twin fields of vision, peripheral to the focus of attention.

Ignoring such peripheral mismatchings in Eternalisms does not come sonaturally. Because the image pictures alternate in appearance, theydon't quietly superimpose (with one image largely discarded from minddue to our having a “dominant eye”): non-overlayed areas will tend tojiggle and bounce, usually a distraction. Unless that is the effectwanted in a particular instance, the procedures of artificiallyoverlaying A and B picture-areas for the viewer will be carried outthroughout an Eternalism composition, into all peripheral areas of thepicture. Again, this can be done employing computer graphicscut-and-paste techniques, with the filling of areas left emptied (byremoval or shifting of a form) usually accomplished by the extending ofadjacent colors.

Picture-frames A and B may be near-identical or have only some elementswith close visual correspondence. Similarity of shape and locationwithin the frame are important factors determining the effect. This istrue to the point that entirely different pictured objects but ofsimilar shape and on-screen location will give better results than twoimages of the same object recorded from perspectives too far apart orplaced too far apart within consecutive frames, in which case the imageswill be seen to vibrate or bounce back and forth without visuallycombining into a single moving form. While matching image elements inpictures A and B must occupy almost the exact screen-space in order tocombine properly, it will be the differences between them (within closetolerances) that will produce and determine the character of movementand dimensionality. Computer graphics cut-and-paste techniques can beused to select and place, shrink and expand and otherwise manipulatematching elements (from any source) into effective screen-locationsrelative to each other. One or both pictures may be collaged or stitchedtogether from multiple sources, parts may be removed or inserted, liftedand reshaped or/and relocated. Even when the image is photographed fromlife and appears life-like, the process of composition can be asexacting and labor-intensive and involved with techniques of artifice ascartoon animation.

Embodiments

In practice, the implementation of this technique opens up a new worldof visual effects. Its uncanniness may be emphasized to createunsettling time-space aberrations for comic or dramatic effect inmovies. Or, aiming for more realistic appearance, the method could beused to provide more lively snapshots of familiar things and events. Forinstance, people could carry, programmed into a Palm Pilot-typeelectronic wallet, a great many (low memory demanding) moving replicasof loved ones in characteristic living gestures, with heightened3-dimensional presence. Even very limited movement, limited3-dimensionality, can enormously augment and reinforce visualinformation: i.e., a child's face breaks into a smile. Again, the verylow demand of electronic memory by an Eternalism (cycling as few as twopicture-frames with an interval of darkness), makes possible extensivelyillustrated electronic catalogues or even encyclopedias, supportinghundreds and eventually thousands of Eternalized illustrations. Areader-viewer might observe a home appliance in operation. Or study avisual sampling of an ocean wave breaking in its sweep to shore, studyit as has never been possible before, forever breaking from peakascendancy. One may study a springing cat, sheath of muscles slidingover ribs continually, available for sustained observation; or follow aclear demonstration of the direction a screwdriver must turn to furtherimbed a screw. Any number of instances where stereo-dimensional action(often audio-accompanied, as audio also demands little computer-memory)would communicate so much more than a still and flat image, or even amoving but flat image.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method of displaying one ormore frames of a video is provided. Data comprising a compressed imageframe and temporal redundancy information is received. The image frameis decompressed. A plurality of bridge frames that are visuallydissimilar to the image frame are generated. The image frame and theplurality of bridge frames are blended, generating a plurality ofblended frames, and the plurality of blended frames are displayed.

The basic idea of video compression is to remove spatial area redundancywithin a video frame (e.g. as done with Fax transmissions) and temporalredundancy between video frames. Since the successive frames in a videostream usually do not change much within small time intervals, thetemporal redundancies can be used to encode and compress a video framebased on other video frames temporally (successively or previously)close to it.

As an example, MPEG compressed video files record a 16.times.16 pixelarea (referred to as a macro block) of a frame of a motion picture, andthen for successive frames only record a motion vector describing themotion of the macro block. In MPEG compression the motion vector has ahorizontal and vertical part, each part ranging from −64 to +63 with apositive value indicating that the macro block moves to the right ordownward respectively. Any macro block can move up to 64 pixelslaterally and vertically between frames. (MPEG compression tracks notjust rigid rotation but also macro block rotation.) High compressionrates are achievable for moving pictures in part because the nextsuccessive frame of a motion video consists in the main of identicalinformation. For instance, if the camera is fixed, the backgroundinformation for a scene will be mostly identical between the frames ofthe scene. Most macro blocks will have an associated numerical motionvector indicating the macro block has not moved. In those cases wherethe macro block exhibits motion between frames, the macro block willhave an associated numerical motion vector quantifying where the macroblock has moved. In either case, only the motion vector needs to berecorded in the compressed file, not the redundant macro block.Software-based (e.g. Microsoft Media Player) and hardware-based (e.g.,DVD) video players can read a compressed file and decompress it back toa video stream for display on a monitor device for viewing.

This has great advantages over previously described methods since itrelies on motion vector descriptors that are pre-calculated and storedin the compressed video file, and does not require real-time imageprocessing.

The discussion herein refers to MPEG compressed video files as twoexamples of video file formats that could be used by this invention.While the preferred embodiment of the invention will demonstrate theprinciple using just the MPEG format, it should be clearly understoodthat the principles disclosed in the invention could be used by anyvideo compression technique that relies on temporal redundancies. Otherformats, such as QuickTime, may be used.

Video File Data Compression

Video compression refers to reducing the quantity of data used torepresent digital video images, and is a combination of spatial imagecompression and temporal motion compensation. Compressed video caneffectively reduce the bandwidth required to transmit video viaterrestrial broadcast, via cable TV, or via satellite TV services.

Most video compression is lossy—it operates on the premise that much ofthe data present before compression is not necessary for achieving goodperceptual quality. For example, DVDs use a video coding standard thatcan compress around two hours of video data by 15 to 30 times, whilestill producing a picture quality that is generally consideredhigh-quality for standard-definition video. Video compression is atradeoff between disk space, video quality, and the cost of hardwarerequired to decompress the video in a reasonable time. However, if thevideo is over-compressed in a lossy manner, visible (and sometimesdistracting) artifacts can appear.

Video compression typically operates on square-shaped groups ofneighboring pixels, usually called macro-blocks. These pixel groups orblocks of pixels are compared from one frame to the next and the videocompression records only the differences within those blocks. This worksextremely well if the video has no motion. A still frame of text, forexample, can be repeated with very little transmitted data. In areas ofvideo with more motion, more pixels change from one frame to the next.When more pixels change, the video compression scheme must send moredata to keep up with the larger number of pixels that are changing. Ifthe video content includes an explosion, flames, a flock of thousands ofbirds, or any other image with a great deal of high-frequency detail,the quality will decrease, or the variable bitrate must be increased torender this added information with the same level of detail.

Video data contains spatial and temporal redundancy. Similarities canthus be encoded by merely registering differences within a frame(spatial), and/or between frames (temporal). Spatial encoding isperformed by taking advantage of the fact that the human eye is unableto distinguish small differences in color as easily as it can perceivechanges in brightness, so that very similar areas of color can be“averaged out” in a similar way to jpeg images. With temporalcompression only the changes from one frame to the next are encoded asoften a large number of the pixels will be the same on a series offrames.

One of the most powerful techniques for compressing video is interframecompression. Interframe compression uses one or more earlier or laterframes in a sequence to compress the current frame, while intraframecompression uses only the current frame, which is effectively imagecompression.

The most commonly used method works by comparing each frame in the videowith the previous one. If the frame contains areas where nothing hasmoved, the system simply issues a short command that copies that part ofthe previous frame, bit-for-bit, into the next one. If sections of theframe move in a simple manner, the compressor emits a (slightly longer)command that tells the decompresser to shift, rotate, lighten, or darkenthe copy—a longer command, but still much shorter than intraframecompression.

MPEG-1 Video Compression Standard

The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) was formed by the InternationalOrganization for Standards (ISO) to set standards for audio and videocompression and transmission. Its first meeting was in May 1988, and by2005, MPEG included approximately 350 members per meeting from variousindustries, universities, and research institutions. MPEG's hasdeveloped several sets of standards referred to as MPEG-1, MPEG-2,MPEG-3 and MPEG-4, and is continuing to work on other video compressionstandards.

MPEG-1 is an ISO/IEC (International Organization forStandardization/International Electrotechnical Commission) standard formedium quality and medium bit rate video and audio compression. Itallows video to be compressed by the ratios in the range of 50:1 to100:1, depending on image sequence type and desired quality. The MPEG-1standard is one of many video file compression technique that usespatial redundancy and temporal redundancy to reduce the size of thedigital video file with little noticeable loss from the originallyuncompressed digital version. The MPEG-1 standard is still widely usedeven though it is more than 15 years old is still widely used. Thepreferred embodiment of the invention will use the MPEG-1 videocompression standard to demonstrate the principles of the invention.However, it should be clearly understood that the principles disclosedin the invention could be used by any video compression technique thatrelies on temporal redundancies to achieve compression of video data.Thus, the invention is not restricted to just MPEG-1 or other MPEGcompression standards. The invention may be applied using any compressedvideo file associated with a compression format that uses temporalredundancy to achieve compression of video data.

In MPEG-1, a video stream is a sequence of video frames. Each frame is astill image, and a video player decompresses an MPEG-1 bit stream anddisplays one frame after another to produce the motion video. When amotion video is compressed, MPEG-1 video compression removes bothspatial redundancy within a video frame and temporal redundancy betweenvideo frames. The compression algorithms exploit several techniques toremove spatial redundancy but most importantly for this invention is itsuse of motion-compensation to remove temporal redundancy. Since theimages in a video stream usually do not change much within small timeintervals, and the idea of MPEG-1 motion-compensation is to encode avideo frame based on other video frames temporally close to it.

A MPEG-1 compressed digital file is a sequence of three kinds of frames:an I-frame, a P-frame, and a B-frame. The I-frames are intra-coded, i.e.they can be reconstructed without any reference to other frames. TheP-frames are forward predicted from the last I-frame or P-frame, i.e. itis impossible to reconstruct them without the data of another frame (Ior P). The B-frames are both forward predicted and backward predictedfrom the last/next I-frame or P-frame, i.e. there are two other framesnecessary to reconstruct them. P-frames and B-frames are referred to asinter-coded frames.

Whether a frame of video is coded as an I-frame, P-frame, or B-frame,the frame is processed as micro-blocks. A micro-block is a square arrayof 16.times.16 pixels, and is the unit for motion-compensatedcompression. If a video frame has a resolution of 320.times.240 pixelsthe MPEG-1 bit stream will reference this frame with respect to20.times.15=300 macro-blocks.

An I-frame is encoded as a single image, with no reference to any pastor future frames. The encoding scheme used is similar to JPEGcompression. Each 8.times.8 block is encoded independently with oneexception explained below. The block is first transformed from thespatial domain into a frequency domain using the DCT (Discrete CosineTransform), which separates the signal into independent frequency bands.Most frequency information is in the upper left corner of the resulting8.times.8 block. After this, the data is quantized. Quantization can bethought of as ignoring lower-order bits (though this process is slightlymore complicated). Quantization is the only lossy part of the wholecompression process other than subsampling. The resulting data is thenrun-length encoded in a zig-zag ordering to optimize compression. Thiszig-zag ordering produces longer runs of 0's by taking advantage of thefact that there should be little high-frequency information (more 0's asone zig-zags from the upper left corner towards the lower right cornerof the 8.times.8 block). The afore-mentioned exception to independenceis that the coefficient in the upper left corner of the block, calledthe DC coefficient, is encoded relative to the DC coefficient of theprevious block (DCPM coding).

A P-frame is encoded relative to the past reference frame. A referenceframe is a P- or I-frame. The past reference frame is the closestpreceding reference frame. Each macro-block in a P-frame can be encodedeither as an I-macro-block or as a P-macro-block. An I-macro-block isencoded just like a macro-block in an I-frame. A P-macro-block isencoded as a 16.times.16 area of the past reference frame, plus an errorterm. To specify the 16.times.16 area of the reference frame, a motionvector is included. A motion vector (0, 0) means that the 16.times.16area is in the same position as the macro-block we are encoding. Othermotion vectors are relative to that position. Motion vectors may includehalf-pixel values, in which case pixels are averaged. The error term isencoded using the DCT, quantization, and run-length encoding. Amacro-block may also be skipped which is equivalent to a (0, 0) vectorand an all-zero error term. The search for good motion vector (the onethat gives small error term and good compression) is the heart of anyMPEG-1 video encoder and it is the primary reason why encoders are slow.

A B-frame is encoded relative to the past reference frame, the futurereference frame, or both frames. The future reference frame is theclosest following reference frame (I or P). The encoding for B-frames issimilar to P-frames, except that motion vectors may refer to areas inthe future reference frames. For macro-blocks that use both past andfuture reference frames, the two 16.times.16 areas are averaged.

The MPEG-1 bit stream for both P-frames (forward predicted), andB-frames (forward and backward predicted) have motion vectors explicitlyor implicitly associated with each macro-block. A P-frame of the motionvideo file with a resolution of 320.times.240 may have as many as 300motion vectors describing the movement of the macro-blocks from the mostrecent I-frame or P-frame. A B-frame of the motion video file willsimilarly have up to 300 motion vectors describing the movement of themacro-blacks from last/next I-frame or P-frame.

As an example, consider a single macro-block. A following P-frame showsthe same triangle but at another position. Prediction means to supply amotion vector that determines how to move the macro-block from anI-frame to the P-frame. This motion vector is part of the MPEG streamand it is divided in a horizontal and a vertical part. These parts canbe positive or negative. A positive value means motion to the right ormotion downwards, respectively. A negative value means motion to theleft or motion upwards, respectively. The parts of the motion vector arein the range of −64 . . . +63. So the referred area can be up to64.times.64 pixels away.

An I-frame is intra-coded and cannot refer to another frame so it cannothave any motion vectors. However, the inter-coded P-frames and B-frameshave motion vectors for each macro-block and are used by this inventionto calculate for their respective frames the Characteristic 3DeepsMotion Vector necessary to calculate the optical densities of the lensesof the 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

In accordance with an embodiment, data comprising a compressed imageframe and temporal redundancy information is received. The image frameis decompressed. A plurality of bridge frames that are visuallydissimilar to the image frame are generated. The image frame and theplurality of bridge frames are blended, generating a plurality ofblended frames, and the blended frames are displayed.

FIG. 31 shows a video display manager that may be used to implementcertain embodiments in accordance with an embodiment. Video displaymanager 3100 comprises a processor 3110, a decompression module 3120, abridge frame generator 3130, a frame display module 3150, and a storage3140.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart of a method of decompressing and displaying oneor more image frames in accordance with an embodiment. In anillustrative embodiment, a compressed video file 2500 is stored instorage 3140. Compressed video file 2500 may be generated by videodisplay manager 3100 or, alternatively, received from another device orvia a network such as the Internet.

At step 3210, data comprising a compressed image frame and temporalredundancy information is received. In the illustrative embodiment,processor 3110 retrieves compressed video file 2500 from storage 3140.

At step 3220, the image frame is decompressed. Decompression module 3120decompresses compressed video file 2500, generating a video image frame.FIG. 33 shows an image frame 3350 showing a man against a background ofclouds and sky.

At step 3230, a plurality of bridge frames that are visually dissimilarto the image frame are generated. Bridge frame generator 3130 generatestwo or more bridge frames that are dissimilar from image frame 3350.FIGS. 34A and 34B show two bridge frames 3410 and 3420 that may begenerated. In the illustrative embodiment, bridge frame 3410 has a firstpattern and a bridge frame 3420 has a second pattern that iscomplementary to the first pattern of bridge frame 3410.

In other embodiments, bridge frames may be retrieved from a storage.

At step 3240, the image frame and the plurality of bridge frames areblended, generating a plurality of blended frames. In the illustrativeembodiment, frame display module 3150 blends image frame 3350 and bridgeframe 3410 to generate blended frame 3510, shown in FIG. 35A. Framedisplay module 3150 also blends image frame 3350 and bridge frame 3420to generate blended frame 3520, shown in FIG. 35B.

At step 3250, the plurality of blended frames are displayed. Framedisplay module 3150 now displays blended frames 3510 and 3520 in amanner similar to that described above. For example, blended frames 3510and 3520 may be displayed in accordance with a predetermined pattern,for example. In an embodiment illustrated in FIG. 35C, blended frames3510, 3520 consecutively in a predetermined pattern.

In other embodiments, blended frames 3510 may be displayed in a patternthat includes a plurality of blended frames and image frame 3350, or ina pattern that includes other bridge frames.

In accordance with another embodiment, a plurality of blended frames maybe displayed in accordance with a predetermined pattern that includes afirst pattern comprising the plurality of blended frames, and a secondpattern that includes repetition of the first pattern. In an embodimentillustrated in FIG. 35D, blended frames 3510 and 3520 are displayed in arepeating pattern that includes blended frame 3510, blended frame 3520,and abridge frame 3590.

In various embodiments, the method steps described herein, including themethod steps described in FIG. 32, may be performed in an orderdifferent from the particular order described or shown. In otherembodiments, other steps may be provided, or steps may be eliminated,from the described methods.

Systems, apparatus, and methods described herein may be implementedusing digital circuitry, or using one or more computers using well-knowncomputer processors, memory units, storage devices, computer software,and other components. Typically, a computer includes a processor forexecuting instructions and one or more memories for storing instructionsand data. A computer may also include, or be coupled to, one or moremass storage devices, such as one or more magnetic disks, internal harddisks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks, optical disks, etc.

Systems, apparatus, and methods described herein may be implementedusing computers operating in a client-server relationship. Typically, insuch a system, the client computers are located remotely from the servercomputer and interact via a network. The client-server relationship maybe defined and controlled by computer programs running on the respectiveclient and server computers.

Systems, apparatus, and methods described herein may be used within anetwork-based cloud computing system. In such a network-based cloudcomputing system, a server or another processor that is connected to anetwork communicates with one or more client computers via a network. Aclient computer may communicate with the server via a network browserapplication residing and operating on the client computer, for example.A client computer may store data on the server and access the data viathe network. A client computer may transmit requests for data, orrequests for online services, to the server via the network. The servermay perform requested services and provide data to the clientcomputer(s). The server may also transmit data adapted to cause a clientcomputer to perform a specified function, e.g., to perform acalculation, to display specified data on a screen, etc.

Systems, apparatus, and methods described herein may be implementedusing a computer program product tangibly embodied in an informationcarrier, e.g., in a non-transitory machine-readable storage device, forexecution by a programmable processor; and the method steps describedherein, including one or more of the steps of FIG. 32, may beimplemented using one or more computer programs that are executable bysuch a processor. A computer program is a set of computer programinstructions that can be used, directly or indirectly, in a computer toperform a certain activity or bring about a certain result. A computerprogram can be written in any form of programming language, includingcompiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form,including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component,subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment.

A high-level block diagram of an exemplary computer that may be used toimplement systems, apparatus and methods described herein is illustratedin FIG. 36. Computer 3600 includes a processor 3601 operatively coupledto a data storage device 3602 and a memory 3603. Processor 3601 controlsthe overall operation of computer 3600 by executing computer programinstructions that define such operations. The computer programinstructions may be stored in data storage device 3602, or othercomputer readable medium, and loaded into memory 3603 when execution ofthe computer program instructions is desired. Thus, the method steps ofFIG. 32 can be defined by the computer program instructions stored inmemory 3603 and/or data storage device 3602 and controlled by theprocessor 3601 executing the computer program instructions. For example,the computer program instructions can be implemented as computerexecutable code programmed by one skilled in the art to perform analgorithm defined by the method steps of FIG. 32. Accordingly, byexecuting the computer program instructions, the processor 3601 executesan algorithm defined by the method steps of FIG. 32. Computer 3600 alsoincludes one or more network interfaces 3604 for communicating withother devices via a network. Computer 3600 also includes one or moreinput/output devices 3605 that enable user interaction with computer3600 (e.g., display, keyboard, mouse, speakers, buttons, etc.).

Processor 3601 may include both general and special purposemicroprocessors, and may be the sole processor or one of multipleprocessors of computer 3600. Processor 3601 may include one or morecentral processing units (CPUs), for example. Processor 3601, datastorage device 3602, and/or memory 3603 may include, be supplemented by,or incorporated in, one or more application-specific integrated circuits(ASICs) and/or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

Data storage device 3602 and memory 3603 each include a tangiblenon-transitory computer readable storage medium. Data storage device3602, and memory 3603, may each include high-speed random access memory,such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory(SRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRRAM), or other random access solid state memory devices, and may includenon-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devicessuch as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical diskstorage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices,semiconductor memory devices, such as erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory(EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile discread-only memory (DVD-ROM) disks, or other non-volatile solid statestorage devices.

Input/output devices 3605 may include peripherals, such as a printer,scanner, display screen, etc. For example, input/output devices 1905 mayinclude a display device such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquidcrystal display (LCD) monitor for displaying information to the user, akeyboard, and a pointing device such as a mouse or a trackball by whichthe user can provide input to computer 3600.

Any or all of the systems and apparatus discussed herein, includingvideo display manager 3100, and components thereof, may be implementedusing a computer such as computer 3600.

One skilled in the art will recognize that an implementation of anactual computer or computer system may have other structures and maycontain other components as well, and that FIG. 36 is a high-levelrepresentation of some of the components of such a computer forillustrative purposes.

Further embodiments are now described. As is apparent from theforegoing, most systems for 3D stereoscopy are dual-image systems; thatis the motion picture has a separate right-eye and left-eye image thatare directed to the correct eye. Embodiments of the invention aresingle-image systems; that is the identical image is directed to botheyes of the viewer. All 3Deeps Filter Spectacles have the importantadvantage over traditional 3D viewing systems that two viewers sittingnext to each other can both view the same movie, one in 3D wearing the3Deeps Filter Spectacles, and the other in 2D not wearing the 3DeepsFilter Spectacles. Hence, we use the terminology introduced above:“instant image” and “lagging image”. These images are different from“right-eye image” and “left-eye image”, and should not be confused.

In the instant invention both eyes see the same identical image, but thedifference in retinal reaction time causes the images to be transmittedto the brain at slightly different times. The image that is transmittedto the brain from the eye covered by the clear lens of the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles is termed the instant image. Theimage that is transmitted to the brain from the eye that is covered by aneutral density filter lens of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles is termed the lagging image. The viewer's brain sees theinstant image and lagging image as a single eye image that displays 3-Ddepth characteristics when lateral motion is present. More particularly,Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles use a dual optimizationof the spectacle apparatus to achieve 3D that optimizes the Pulfrichillusion for the viewer.

A First Optimization

One embodiment of the invention teaches how to use a retinal reactiontime curve to calculate an optimal optical density for use in settingthe neutral density filter of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles. More specifically, three teaching methods are presented,including: a. Computing an optical density for the neutral densityfilter so the difference in retinal reaction time between the instantimage and the lagging image is 2½ inches (the average inter-oculardistance between the right and left eyes) and thereby imparting 3-Ddepth characteristics to the scene. This embodiment requires as inputboth direction and speed of motion between frames of a motion picture,and luminance. b. Computing an optical density for the neutral densityfilter so the difference in retinal reaction time between the instantimage and the lagging image is a constant value and thereby imparting3-D depth characteristics to the scene. This embodiment only requiresluminance as input. c. Computing an optical density for the neutraldensity filters so the difference in retinal reaction time between theinstant image and the lagging image corresponds to a fixed number ofpicture frames and thereby imparting 3-D depth characteristics to thescene. This embodiment only requires luminance as input.

Such methods are only exemplary and not exhaustive. Other methods ofusing the retinal reaction time curve to calculate the optical densityof the neutral density filter of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles may be employed. Similar methods using factors other thandirection and speed of motion between frames of a motion picture, andluminance of the frame of the motion picture may also be advantageouslyused. Each method optimizes to a specific feature and characteristic ofContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. The invention furtherencompasses the use of a photo-detector, such as a photodiode, on thespectacles as an alternate means of estimating luminance for ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

A Second Optimization

The invention further directs to showing how a controller uses theoptimal optical density, and the operating characteristics of theelectrochromic material used in the fabrication of the spectacles, tooptimize the operation of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles. More specifically, the invention further directs to showinghow the Operating Characteristic curve and the Transition Time curve ofthe electrochromic material are used to control the neutral densityfilter lens of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

Other Features

The invention further directs to showing how video format conversionchips, used for real-time image processing in High Definition LCD,Plasma, and Projection TV's, as well as Digital Cinema Projectors can beutilized in calculation of the optical density of the neutral opticalfilter lens of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. Whilethe calculation of the optical density of the neutral density filter maybe done in software, it can advantageously be performed using electroniccircuitry. The circuitry can (a) be included within the video formatconversion chip, (b) be embedded in a separate chip that couples to avideo format conversion chip on an IC board and connects directly to theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, or (c) be embedded in aseparate chip that couple to another IC chip that connects to thespectacles.

Also, a general luminance reduction has been used in a dual imagesystems. No precise continuous luminance control has been disclosed.Furthermore, in such a dual image system embodiment, rather than use theoptimal OD value for the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles,the value is used to generate a second frame of a dual image 3D motionpicture.

We use the terminology neutral filter (or neutral density filter) tomean a darkened, gray or colored transparent filter. In this invention aneutral filter reduces light by the approximately the same amount forall wavelengths over the visual spectrum. For a neutral density filterwith optical density d the amount of optical power transmitted throughthe filter is given by 10.sup.-d. For reference, a neutral filter withan optical density of 0.3 allows transmission of about 50% of the light;an optical density of 0.6 allows transmission of about 25% of the light,and an optical density of 0.9 allows transmission of about 12.5% of thelight.

We also use the term clear to refer to a filter that is much clearerthan the neutral filter and seemingly does not block light. However, allfilters block the transmission or reduce the passage of light to someextent. For instance, clear glass reduces light by about 1%. By clearthen it should be understood we refer to a filter that reduces lightless than the neutral density filter. That is all that is required toactuate the Pulfrich illusion.

Throughout the disclosure we use interchangeably the terms 3Deeps FilterSpectacles and Pulfrich Filter Spectacles'—both referring to the earlierspectacles of this invention that allow 2D movies to be viewed with thevisual effect of 3 dimensions. The term Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles refers to the improved 3Deeps Filter Spectacles thatuse double optimization to solve problems inherent in earlier 3DeepsFilter Spectacles.

In the embodiments of the invention the direction of motion is used todetermine which of the two viewing lenses is clear and which is darkenedto a neutral density. If the motion on the screen is determined to beleft-to-right then the left lens of the spectacles is clear and theright lens darkened. If the motion on the screen is determined to beright-to-left then the right lens of the spectacles is clear and theleft lens darkened. If there is no motion in the scene then both lensesare set to clear.

We may also use the term action directed eye. When the motion on thescreen is from left-to-right then the right eye that views the scenethrough the neutral density filter is the action directed eye. When themotion on the screen is from right-to-left then the left eye that viewsthe scene through the neutral density filter is the action directed eye.

Pulfrich 3-Dimensional Illusion

Pulfrich was a physicist that recognized that an image that travelsthrough a dark lens or filter takes longer to register with the brainthan it does for an image that passes without interruption. The delay isnot great—just milliseconds—but enough for a frame of video to arriveand register on the mind one frame later from an eye looking through adark filter than from an unobstructed eye. Pulfrich spectacles then haveone clear lens (or is absent a lens) that does not cause a delay, andone darkened lens that slightly delays the image that arrives to theother eye. In a motion picture viewed through Pulfrich lenses, for anobject moving laterally across the screen, one eye sees the currentframe and the other eye sees a previous frame.

The clear lens may block some light. Even clear glass blocks some light.What is important and necessary for the invention to show passages of a2D motion picture in 3D is that the clear lens be clearer than the otherdarkened lens and not diminish as much light as the darkened lens. Theinvention will produce a 3D effect as long as the clear lightdiminishing lens diminishes less light than the darkened lightdiminishing lens.

As with normal two-eye parallel viewing, the disparity between the twoimages is perceived as depth information. The faster a screen-objectmoves in contrast to its background, the more separation there isbetween the instant image and the lagging image, and the closer orfurther the object appears according to the eye being intercepted by thedark filter (closer if on the side to which the object is moving). Thefact that faster objects can appear closer than slower objects alsocoincides with the principles of motion parallax. Generally, however,the greater displacements frame to frame (and now eye to eye) resultfrom degrees of closeness to the recording camera (proximity magnifies),so that Pulfrich viewing can deliver an approximately correct andfamiliar depth likeness. While the depth likeness is unquestionably 3-D,it may differ from the fixed constant of an individual's inter-oculardistance when observing the world directly. Few observers will noticethis anymore than they are bothered by the spatial changes resultingfrom use of telephoto or wide-angle lens in filming scenes.

Motion pictures made for the Pulfrich method can be viewed without anyspecial glasses—appearing as regular motion pictures minus the 3-Deffect. Also, motion pictures made without regard for the Pulfricheffect, will still show the 3-D visual effect if lenses are worn andappropriately configured.

The limitation of the Pulfrich technique is that the 3-dimensionalillusion works only for objects moving horizontally or laterally acrossthe screen. Motion pictures made to take advantage of these glassescontain lots of horizontal tracking shots or lateral picture-subjectmotion to create the effect. The illusion does not work if the cameradoesn't shift location while subject matter remains static, but verticalcamera movement will create horizontal movement as the field of viewexpands or contracts. Pulfrich, who first described this illusion, wasblind in one eye, and was never able to view the illusion, though heaccurately predicted and described it.

The 3-dimensional visual effect is produced by the 3Deeps Systemregardless of whether the motion picture was shot on regular or digitalfilm; regardless of whether the presentation media is film, digitalfilm, VCR tape, or DVD, and; regardless of whether the motion picture isviewed in the movie theater, home TV, Cable TV, iPod or PDA, or on acomputer monitor.

A basic example of the Pulfrich illusion can be seen by viewing eitherof two TV stations. The news headlines on the CNN Television network orthe stock market quotations on CNBC scroll in from the right of the TVscreen and across and off the screen to the left. The news or quotationsappear in a small band across the bottom of the screen while the networkshow appears above the scrolling information. When either of thesenetwork stations is viewed through Pulfrich glasses, with the darkenedlens covering the left eye and the clear lens covering the right eye,the scrolling information appears in vivid 3-dimensions appearing to bein front of the TV screen. If the lenses are reversed with the clearlens covering the left eye and the darkened lens covering the right eye,the scrolling information appears to the viewer as receded, and behindthe TV screen.

Another example of the Pulfrich illusion can be seen in the movie TheTerminator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Any off-the-shelf copy ofthe movie—VCR tape, or DVD—can be viewed on a TV or PC playback displaymonitor as originally intended by the filmmaker. But, viewing scenesthat include lateral motion from The Terminator, such as the scene whenSarah Connors enters a bar to call police (about 29 minutes into themovie) when viewed through Pulfrich glasses (left eye clear lens andright eye dark lens) shows the scene vividly in 3-dimensions, eventhough this visual effect was totally unanticipated by the director andcinematographer.

Another stunning example is the famous railroad yard scene from “Gonewith the Wind”, in which Scarlett O'Hara played by Vivien Leigh walksacross the screen from the right as the camera slowly pulls back to showthe uncountable wounded and dying confederate soldiers. When viewedthrough Pulfrich glasses (with left eye clear lens and right eye darklens), the scene appears to the user in 3-dimensions, even thought itwas totally unintended by the director and cinematographer. Interestinghere is that the main movement of this scene was created by the cameralifting and receding and so expanding the view. Effective lateral motionresulting from such camera movement would in fact be to only one side ofthe screen, which the viewers will utilize to interpret the entire sceneas in depth.

The Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps system will allow any movie, such as“Gone with the Wind” which was shot in 1939, to be viewed in part in3-dimensions. And with the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps system this newviewing experience does not require any additional effort on the part ofthe owners, producers, distributors, or projectionists of the motionpicture—just that the viewer don the 3Deeps viewing glasses (also called3Deeps viewing spectacles).

Note that the Pulfrich 3-D effect will operate when the left or rightfiltering does not correspond with the direction of foreground screenmovement. The depth-impression created is unnatural, a confusion of soldand open space, of forward and rear elements. When confronted by suchanomalous depth scenes, most minds will turn off, and not acknowledgethe confusion. For normal appearing 3-D, mismatched image darkening andforeground direction must be avoided.

We have described the need to match horizontal direction of foregroundscreen-movement to Left or Right light-absorbing lens. This, however, isa rule that often has to be judiciously extended and even bent, becauseall screen-action appropriate to Pulfrich 3-D is not strictlyhorizontal; horizontal movements that angle up or down, that have alarge or even dominant element of the vertical, may still be seen indepth. Even a single moving element in an otherwise static scene can belifted into relief by way of an adroit application of a correspondingPulfrich filter. There would even be times when a practiced operatorwould choose to schedule instances of lens-darkening contrary to thematching-with-foreground-direction rule; the explanation for this liesin the fact that the choice of left or right filter-darkening will pullforward any object or plane of action moving in a matching direction,and there are times when the most interesting action in a picture forseeing in 3D could be at some distance from the foreground, evenrequiring a Left/Right filter-match at odds with the filter-side thatforeground-movement calls for. For instance, if one wished to seemarchers in a parade marching Left, to lift them forward of theirbackground would require darkening of the Left lens, but foregroundmovement could be calling for a Right lens darkening; this would be asituation when a choice might be made to over-ride theforeground-matching rule. In most instances the rule is to be followed,but not mechanically; screen movement is often compound and complex, andan observant individual could arrange a Pulfrich timing for a movie withan alertness to such subtleties that did not limit decisions torecognition of foreground direction alone. As mentioned earlier, therewould even be times, when the recording camera had moved either forwardor backwards through space, when both Left and Right lenses wouldhalf-darken to either side of their centers, outer halves darkeningmoving forward (with picture elements moving out to both sides frompicture-center) or both inner halves darkening when retreating backwards(with picture elements moving in towards center from each side).

One of the advantages of optical density Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles over the 3Deeps Filter Spectacles previously describedis that they obviate the necessity of many of the heuristic rules thatwould govern the operation of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles. Heuristic rules were used to address the problems of 3DeepsSpectacles in rapidly transitioning the state of the lenses for theviewer. In previous co-pending 3Deeps applications, we had described theuse of such heuristics.

For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,405,801 “System and method for PulfrichFilter Spectacles”, heuristic embodiments for 3Deeps Filter Spectaclewere described as follows: [Col 23, Line 45] “Other embodiment may havesynchronization algorithms that utilize various heuristic rules indetermining a synchronization event. For instance, if the viewer lensesresponding to rapidly detected changing lateral motion, switch statestoo rapidly, this may cause undue discomfort to the viewer. Otherembodiments may allow the user to override the synchronization signalsplaced in the motion picture, and require that any single state remainactive for a minimum period of time. This may be important for peoplethat are photosensitive—people who are sensitive to flickering orintermittent light stimulation. Photosensitivity is estimated to affectone in four thousand people, and can be triggered by the flicker from atelevision set. While photosensitive people may simply remove thePulfrich Filter Spectacles, heuristic rules could be employed to reduceflicker and eliminate any additional photosensitivity from the PulfrichFilter Spectacles. For instance, such a heuristic rules may implementlogic in the synchronization decision rule that require that no changeto a synchronization event can take place for a set number of secondsafter the last synchronization event—i.e. a lens state must be activefor a minimum length of time before a new state may be implemented.”

The use of Continuous Adjusting 3Deeps Filter Spectacles as describedherein eliminate the need for such heuristic rules since the lenses arenow continually changing to conform to an optimal optical density.

The following technologies can be used in the present invention:

Substances that Change Color and Transparency

Objects that change color have been well known for a long time. Animatecreatures such as cephalopods (squid) have long been known for theirability to change color seemingly at will, by expanding or retractingchromatophore cells in their body.

There are many different technologies that are used to cause physicalmaterials to change their color and transparency. These may react toheat, light, ultraviolet light, or electronic means to change theirstate, which in turn affect how they reflect and refract light, or theirproperties of transparency, or translucency.

For instance, photochromatic lenses automatically darken in sunlight andlighten when indoors, and have been utilized in sunglasses for manyyears. Some may darken instantaneously, and others have lenses that takeseveral different shades depending upon the intensity of the lightpresented.

Thermochromatic materials are heat activated, causing the color tochange when the activation temperature is reached, and reverse the colorchange when the area begins to cool. These are used in such products asinks, and strip thermometers.

LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are electronic diodes that allow current toflow in one direction and not the other. LEDs have the unique “sideeffect” of producing light while electricity is flowing through them.Thus they have two states—when electricity flows through them they areon and emit light, or off when no electricity flows through them andthey do not emit light.

Phosphors are emissive materials that are used especially in displaytechnologies and that, when exposed to radiation, emits light. Anyfluorescent color is really a phosphor. Fluorescent colors absorbinvisible ultraviolet light and emit visible light at a characteristiccolor. In a CRT, phosphor coats the inside of the screen. When theelectron beam strikes the phosphor, it makes the screen glow. In ablack-and-white screen, there is one phosphor that glows white whenstruck. In a color screen, there are three phosphors arranged as dots orstripes that emit red, green and blue light. In color screens, there arealso three electron beams to illuminate the three different colorstogether. There are thousands of different phosphors that have beenformulated, and that are characterized by their emission color and thelength of time emission lasts after they are excited.

Liquid crystals are composed of molecules that tend to be elongated andshaped like a cigar, although scientists have identified a variety ofother, highly exotic shapes as well. Because of their elongated shape,under appropriate conditions the molecules can exhibit orientationalorder, such that all the axes line up in a particular direction. Onefeature of liquid crystals is that electric current affects them. Aparticular sort of nematic liquid crystal, called twisted nematics (TN),is naturally twisted. Applying an electric current to these liquidcrystals will untwist them to varying degrees, depending on thecurrent's voltage. These crystals react predictably to electric currentin such a way as to control light passage.

Still another way to alter the amount of light that passes through alens is with Polaroid lenses. Polaroids are materials thatpreferentially transmit light with polarization along one direction thatis called the polarization axis of the polaroid. Passing unpolarizedlight through a polaroid produces transmitted light that is linearlypolarized, and reduces the intensity of the light passing through it byabout one-half. This reduction in light from a first polaroid does notdepend on the filter orientation. Readily available optically activematerials are cellophane, clear plastic tableware, and most dextrosesugars (e.g. Karo syrup). Materials that alter the polarization of lighttransmitted through them are said to be optically active.

If two polaroids are placed immediately adjacent to each other at rightangles (crossed) no light is transmitted through the pair. If twosimilar polaroids immediately adjacent to each other are in completealignment, then the second polaroid does not further reduce theintensity of light passing through the first lens. Additional reductionof light intensity passing through the first polaroid lens will occur ifthe two similar polaroids immediately adjacent to each other are inother then complete or right angle alignment. This can be beneficiallyused in other embodiments of the invention to more precisely control theintensity of light passing through the 3Deeps spectacles lenses.

Polaroids can be actively controlled by electronic currents, and areused in such products as LCD displays. For example digital watches oftenuse LCD display for the display of time. In such products, there is alight source behind two layers of LCD materials. Electronic current isused to control the polarity of specific areas of the two layers. Anyarea of the screen for which the two polaroid layers are at right anglesto each other will not pass any light—other areas will allow light topass. In this manner, the alphanumeric information of LCD can beelectronically controlled and displayed on an LCD display.

Another technology to control the intensity of light passing through thelenses includes directional filters such as the micro-louver.

In embodiment of this invention, we utilize electrochromics that changetransparency when an electronic current is passed through them. Inparticular, we use a substance that is darkened (allowing some light topass through) when current is applied across it, but is clearer andtransparent and allows more light to pass unhindered when no current isapplied to it. In other embodiments of the invention, other substancesand technologies could be used that allow the lenses to change theircolor, or their properties of transparency or translucency.

Algorithms to Detect Movement in Motion Pictures

Early motion detectors were entirely analog in nature but completelysuitable to monitor situations where no motion is to be expected, suchas restricted areas in museums, and stores when they are closed for theevening. Recent advances in digital photography and computers haveallowed new means to monitor such situations, and incorporate digitalvideo systems that can passively record images at set time intervals(e.g. 15 frames per second), computer processors to process the imageand detect motion, and cause appropriate action to be taken if motion isdetected.

Many different algorithms have been developed for computer processing ofimages that can be used to determine the presence of lateral movement ina motion picture, as well as identifying the direction of lateralmotion. In the future new algorithms will continue to be developed. Anyalgorithm that can process sequences of digital images, and detectmotion and the direction of motion can be used in the invention.

Out of necessity, algorithms to detect movement in a motion picture havehad to be developed. The problem is that movies for TV, cine, digitalcameras, etc. use many different formats. To show these differentformats with the highest quality possible in a home or movie theatervenue requires that the problem of format conversion between the inputformat and the output screen format be deftly handled to optimize thequality of the viewing. Detailed descriptions of the problem and variousdigital image processing solutions can be found in the magazine articlesElectronic Design Strategy News articles by Brian Dipert, “Videoimprovements obviate big bit streams”, Mar. 15, 2001, pp 83-102 andElectronic Design Strategy News, article by Brian Dipert, “Videoquality: a hands-on view, Jun. 7, 2001, pp 83-96”. A simplified examplewill however help to explain the problem and the approaches take to asolution.

Consider an input signal to a TV which is 30 frames per second (analogTV) but that is being output and shown on a high-end digital LCD TVrunning at 120 frames per second. Showing a TV input signal of 30 fps atan output of 120 fps is an example of a format conversion problem. Onesimple way to address this problem of format conversion is to simply add3 exact copies of each frame to the output stream. That works if thereis no motion, but if a screen object exhibits any motion between framesthen the 3 new frames have the moving object in the wrong place. If thissolution is used, then the better and more expensive the digital TV, theworse this problem appears to the viewer. So digital TVs incorporateformat conversion image processing, generally implemented asformat-conversion chips that perform complex frame-to-frame imageprocessing and track speed and direction of motion and then use thatinformation to better construct the 3 new frames.

At least two different approaches are taken to detect and quantifymotion between frames of a moving picture. They include edge-basedalgorithms and region-based algorithms. Any algorithm that quantifiesmotion between frames of a motion picture can be used with thealgorithms of the preferred and alternate embodiments to set the optimaloptical density of the neutral density filter of 3Deeps FilterSpectacles.

Edge-based algorithms have been used in digital cameras as part of themeans to implement functions such as auto-focus. Edge-based algorithmsutilize information that can be calculated from the discontinuitiesbetween adjoining pixels of the digitized image. For instance, considera person standing against a light background. The edge pixels of theperson can be clearly identified because of the sudden change in pixelvalue. Edge-based algorithms generally identify such intensity edges inthe image, eliminate all other pixels (for instance by changing themfrom their recorded value to white), and then process the image basedsolely on the identified intensity edges.

The MELZONIC chip from Philips is one example of a region-basedalgorithm. The Philips MELZONIC chip uses a technique for motionestimation, which they call 3-D Recursive Search Block-Matching. Byanalyzing two successive TV fields to locate blocks of pixels in thesecond field that match blocks in the first, 3-D Recursive SearchBlock-Matching is able to assign a velocity vector to each block ofpixels in the first field. These velocity vectors can then be used tointerpolate the correct spatial position of each pixel block in a newfield that is positioned temporally between the two original fields—i.e.to create new movement phases.

The Philips MELZONIC chip, or the methods, systems and apparatus in thepreviously described US patents of Iue (U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,415), Nagaya(U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,692), or De Haan (U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,245), or inother inventions or algorithms for motion object detection, may beincorporated in embodiments of the 3Deeps System as a means control theoptical density of the neutral density filter of the 3Deeps FilterSpectacles.

One might think that alternating between the screen-flatness of adialogue scene and the deep space of an action scene would disrupt theflow of a story. In fact, just as accompanying movie-music can beintermittent while entirely supporting a story development, dialogue isbest attended to with the screen flat and action-spectacle is mosteffective given the dimension and enhanced clarity of depth. Usually afunction of lighting specialists, it is always necessary to make objectsand spaces on a flat screen appear distinct from each other; besidesmaking a scene more convincing, 3-D separation of forms and of spatialvolumes one from the other speeds up the “reading” of what areessentially spatial events. This is to say: flat can best enableconcentration on dialogue; depth-dimension can most effectively deliveraction scenes. Alternating between 2-D and 3-D awareness is something weeven do, to a degree, in our experience of actuality, as a function ofour changing concentration of attention; just as we hear thingsdifferently when we concentrate on listening. Then, too, making sense ofmovies is a thing we learn to do, as different from life-experience as amovie is with its sudden close-ups and change of angle and of scene, itsflashbacks, et cetera. Movie viewing is a learned language, a form ofthinking; the alternating of flat-screen information withdepth-information will be as readily adapted to as any otherreal-world-impossibility accepted without question as natural to thescreen.

Synchronization and Control

The preferred embodiment of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps systemmakes use of signals to synchronize the lens filters of the viewingspectacles to the lateral motion in the motion picture, and thus controlthe 3-dimensional visual effect for the viewer. The signals aredeveloped in real-time, and does not require any alteration to themotion picture, or that any control information is placed in the motionpicture. The information that is calculated is used to determinesynchronization events that are used to control the state of darkeningindividually of the left and right lenses of the Continuous Adjustable3Deeps system.

Motion pictures have benefited from other types of synchronization andcontrol information that is placed within the frames of motion pictures.However, these are characteristically different than the synchronizationand control used in this invention.

In many motion pictures, to alert the movie theater projectionist thatit is time to change reels, movie producers would place visible controlinformation, in the form of a white circle appearing in the upper rightupper hand corner of successive frames of the movie. When theprojectionist sees this information, they know that it is time to starta second projector that has the next reel of the movie, and thusmaintain an uninterrupted motion picture presentation.

Another means of communicating control information in motion pictureframes is with the clapper slate board that indicates the start of a newscene when filming a motion picture. When filming motion picture orother type of video production, video and audio have been recordedseparately. The two separate recordings must be precisely synchronizedto insure that the audio recording matches the video image.Synchronization of the video and audio recordings has been accomplishedusing a clapper slate board. The audible clap created when a techniciansnaps the slate board in front of the camera is used during editing tomanually synchronize the audio recording with the video recording. Theeditor simply views the video image of the snapping clapper slate, andthen manually adjusts the timing of the audio recording such that theimage of the clapper snapping shut and the sound of the clapper snappingshut are synchronized. Such synchronization can now be accomplishedusing electronic clapper slates. Electronic clapper slates display aSociety of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) code, usuallyin large red light emitting diode numerals. The SMPTE code displayed isthen used to electronically synchronize the video recording with aseparate audio recording.

These types of synchronization and control information solve problemsrelated to the synchronization of sound with filmed action during theproduction and editing of motion pictures, and related to changing reelsof film during the presentation of motion pictures.

Overview

As described above, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles that are the ocularmechanism through which 2D movies may be viewed as 3D. FIG. 37 shows atypical curve of retinal reaction time as a function of luminosity. InFIG. 37 and FIG. 38A-38C, we will explain the working of the Pulfrichillusion that occurs when viewing with one eye through a filtered lensand the other eye unobstructed or through a clear or unfiltered lens.The image seen through the clear lens is termed the instant image andthe image seen through the darker lens is termed the lagging image.While previous related co-pending applications have taught thiswell-known illusion, we re-explain it in terms of a general retinalreaction time curve. Fully understanding the retinal reaction time curveis key to understanding how the instant invention uses this relationshipto select optimal values for the optical density of the neutral densityfilter.

As previously described, the terminology instant image and lagging imageof the disclosed invention should not be confused with left-eye imageand right-eye image of other 3D systems. Dual image systems haveseparate right-eye and left-eye images that are directed to theappropriate eye. The present invention is a single-image system so thatthe right-eye and the left-eye always view the identical image. The eyehowever transmits delayed images to the brain that are termed theinstant image and the lagging image and are organized by the brain asthe eye image. Thus, the present single-image invention works with anymotion picture ever made, while most 3D systems must have speciallyprepared, produced, processed and displayed dual image motion pictures.Additionally, a viewer cannot watch a dual-image 3D system such asAnalglyph, IMAX or Polaroid, or shutter-glass system with ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. Similarly a viewer cannot watch aregular movie with the special viewing spectacles used with dual-image3D systems such as Analglyph, IMAX or Polaroid, or shutter-glass andview the movie 3D.

In FIG. 39 we use the retinal reaction time curve to explain the workingof cardboard Pulfrich spectacles. Cardboard Pulfrich Spectacles havebeen used for many years prior to the invention of 3Deeps FilterSpectacles (and are sometimes also called TV spectacles). We explain theshortcomings and problems of the cardboard spectacle approach. Thecurrent invention overcomes most of the problems and shortcomings of thecardboard spectacles.

In FIG. 40 and FIG. 41 the retinal reaction time curve is used toexplain how to calculate an optical density for the controllable neutraldensity filter that optimizes the Pulfrich illusion. This preferredembodiment requires as input measures the horizontal speed and directionof lateral motion, and a luminance or brightness measure. Since theaverage inter-ocular distance between a person's eyes is 2.5 inches,this method computes an optical density for the neutral density filterso the lagging image seen through the filtered eye lags the instantimage seen through the unfiltered eye by the average inter-oculardistance of 2.5 inches. This method optimizes the depth perception ofContinuous Adjusting 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, and overcomes theshortcomings and problems of the cardboard Pulfrich spectacles. FIG. 42is an illustration of an alternate algorithm to characterize lateralmotion in a motion picture.

In FIG. 43 we use the retinal reaction time curve to show a firstalternate method to calculate an optical density for the controllableneutral density filter. This method only requires that we know thedirection of lateral motion and luminance value—but not the speed ofmotion. This approach sets the optical density of the neutral densitylenses at a value so the difference in retinal reaction time is constanteven as luminance changes. This method also overcomes shortcomings andproblems of the cardboard Pulfrich spectacles. In FIG. 44 we show howthis method operates when incorporated with a photo-detector that isincluded directly into the Continuous Adjusting 3Deeps FilterSpectacles.

In FIG. 45 we use the retinal reaction time curve to show a secondalternate method to calculate an optical density for the controllableneutral density filter. This method only requires that we know thedirection of lateral motion and luminance value—not the speed ofmotion—and using the retinal reaction time curve, selects values so theinstant and lagging images are separated by a pre-specified number offrames of the motion picture. This method also overcomes theshortcomings and problems of the cardboard Pulfrich spectacles.

The video industry has for many decades used Video Format Converters(semiconductor chips, and apparatus such as up-converters) to reformatmovies for showing in different venues. FIG. 46 teaches how toincorporate methods of this invention with such video formatters. FIG.46 is a flowchart of how to incorporate the methods of the inventionwith such a semi-conductor video format converter chips that is able toreport out the detected motion vectors. In method of the invention mayalso be incorporated directly into the video format conversion chip tocalculate control information for the Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles. FIG. 47 is a block diagram showing operation of aVideo and 3Deeps processing used to calculate the optimal opticaldensity of the neutral density filter in the preferred embodiment of theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

In FIG. 48-53 we focus on the operation of the Continuous Adjustable3Deeps Filter Spectacles, and specifically the means by which weoptimize the operation of the lenses of the spectacles to thecharacteristics of the material from which the lenses are fabricated.FIG. 48 is a table showing the control information provided to theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles by the Video and 3DeepsProcessing, and referring back to FIG. 3, a block diagram of theoperation of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles isprovided.

For a typical electrochromic material FIG. 49 provides a typicalOperating Characteristic curve (input Voltage and output opticaldensity) for electrochromic material and shows how it is used by the3Deeps Filter Spectacle to set the optical density of the neutral filterlens. FIG. 50 is a typical transition time curve for an electrochromicmaterial with transition time as a function of optical density and foran electric potential that provides the most rapid change from a lowerto higher optical density. FIG. 51 is a typical transition time curvefor an electrochromic material with transition time as a function ofoptical density and for an electric potential that provides the mostrapid change from a higher to a lower optical density.

FIG. 52 is a block diagram showing the operation of the control unit ofthe Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, and describes howthe operating characteristic curve of FIG. 49 and the transition timecurves of FIG. 50 and FIG. 51 are used to optimize the operation of thelenses of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. FIG. 53shows the operation of an entire system—a typical Continuous Adjustable3Deeps Filter Spectacles system—from input of the video frame, throughVideo and 3Deeps Processing to calculate the optimal optical density,the transmission and reception of the control information, and theoperation of the Control Unit of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles.

FIGS. 54-56 shows hardware implementations of algorithms that calculatean optical density for the controllable neutral density filters. FIG. 54shows an IC implementation selectable for either the algorithm describedin FIG. 40 and FIG. 41, or the algorithm described in FIG. 43. The chipmay be coupled to a video format conversion chip for input, and foroutput to the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, or anotherchip that outputs to the spectacles. FIG. 55 shows an alternate IC chipembodiment using the algorithm of FIG. 43. In this embodiment only thechange in optical density is transmitted to the Control Unit of theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. While this IC chip maybe coupled to a video format conversion chip, FIG. 56 shows how it maybe implemented and coupled to the Control Unit of the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

Calculating the Optical Optimal Density of Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles

FIG. 37 shows a typical retinal reaction time curve 3700. While each eyeis stimulated by light continuously, there is a time delay till theinformation is triggered and transmitted to the brain. This time delayoccurs when we view fix-eyed (as during movie viewing), and is calledthe “Retinal Reaction Time”. The retinal reaction time is dependent onthe amount of light (brightness) that falls on the eye. Luminance ismeasured in log [candela per square metre(dc/msup.2)] as has beenpresented in FIG. 37 on the abscissa scale 3701. (In studies ofperception and psychophysics luminance is often measured in Trolandswhich is a unit of conventional retinal illuminance, but corrects themeasurements of luminance values impinging on the human eye by scalingthem by the effective pupil size.)

To aid the reader, we have included a second abscissa scale 3702 in FIG.37 that translates Luminance into commonly understood terms. Forinstance a luminance reading of 0 approximates the amount of ambientlight from a “clear sky” 3713. Other commonly understood values are alsopresented including a luminance reading of −2 that approximates theamount of ambient light from a “night sky with a full moon” 204.

The ordinate scale 3703 of the retinal reaction time curve shows inmilliseconds the amount of time till the corresponding amount of lighttriggers and sends the information to the brain. For instance in a clearsky 3713 having a luminance measure of 0, the eye will trigger aboutevery 200 msec and send the image to the brain. A night sky with a fullmoon 3704 has a luminance measure of −2 and the eye will trigger aboutevery 325 msec and send the image to the brain.

While the retinal reaction mechanisms are independent for each eye, whenboth eyes are unobstructed the luminance value is the same and theytrigger at about the same time. However, if one eye is shaded so theeyes have unequal retinal illuminance, then the two eyes will trigger atdifferent speeds and different times. As explained above, theterminology we use is instant image for the image sent to the brain byan unshaded eye, and lagging image for that image sent to the brain bythe shaded eye. Using filters with different optical density shadingresults in a difference in retinal reaction time. The difference inretinal reaction time between the two eyes is one factor in the commonlyaccepted explanation for the Pulfrich illusion.

The second factor is simultaneity. The brain will take the two eyeimages and put them together in a ‘simultaneous’ fashion to generate theimage that we perceive. Thus in normal viewing, if both eyes see thesame image without any filtered obstruction, the brain gets twoapproximately identical ‘instant images’. These images only differ bythe inter-ocular distance between the eyes (about 2½ inches), and themind puts these two simultaneous images together to perceive depth.However, if one eye is shaded than the mind will perceive one instantimage and one lagging image and put those together simultaneously toperceive depth. These two factors, retinal reaction time, andsimultaneity are the two factors that explain Pulfrich illusion.

If the scene being viewed is static with no moving object, then theinstant image of the unshaded eye and the lagging image of the shadedeye will still see the same image and the retinal reaction delay andsimultaneity factors will not provide any depth information. Thus, thePulfrich illusion cannot work in the absence of motion. But if the scenebeing viewed has horizontal motion (also called lateral motion) then theshaded eye will see an image that is lagging the instant image. In thiscase the lagging image caused by retinal reaction delay of the shadedeye, when juxtaposed with the instant image perceived by the unshadedeye will, through the mechanism of simultaneity, be reconciled by thebrain as a perception of depth. This is the Pulfrich illusion. This willbe diagrammatically explained in FIGS. 38A-38C.

Note from the typical retinal reaction time curve 3710 the potential ofthe Pulfrich illusion. Retinal reaction time from the illumination oflight from a clear sky at noon ( 1/10th of a second) is approximatelyhalf as long as retinal reaction time from a clear sky (⅕th of asecond). On a TV with a 100 Hz refresh rate that is 10 frames. Theinstant invention uses the retinal reaction time curve to select theoptical density of the neutral shaded lens to optimize the Pulfrichillusion.

The retinal reaction time curve 3710 in FIG. 37 is a typical curveprovided for teaching purposes and may be further refined in the future.The effect of luminance on retinal reaction time has been extensivelystudied as in “Simple Reaction Time As A Function Of Luminance”, AlfredLit, et al, in Perception & Psychophysics, 1971, Vol 10(6), p 397. Therelationship will differ from person-to-person, and also exhibitsvariability within the same person as they age, or even exhibitintra-day variation due to factors such as eyestrain, etc. The retinalreaction time curve 3710 exhibits a reciprocal relationship with retinalilluminance, and also has a discontinuity at a retinal illumination ofabout −1 the threshold at which the cone sensors of the eye turn off andonly rod sensors (that do not see color) are operational. For theteaching purposes of this disclosure however, the smooth retinalreaction time curve 3710 of FIG. 37 will be used.

FIG. 37 shows the general relationship 3710 between reaction time (inmilliseconds) as a function of luminance. For either eye, the magnitudeof the visual latent period is a reciprocal function of the prevailinglevel of retinal illumination. The figure shows a slow retinal reactiontime at low luminance, with retinal reaction time progressivelyincreasing as luminance levels increase. The relationship shown by thisfigure is used in various embodiments to calculate the optical densityof the neutral filter. In the preferred embodiment, this relationshipwill be used to approximate normal stereoscopic vision by calculatingthe optical density of the neutral filter to using an averageinter-ocular separation between the eyes (about 2½ inches).

FIGS. 38A-38C show in more detail the geometry 3800 of how the Pulfrichillusion works. The geometry of the Pulfrich illusion has been welldescribed as for instance in “The Magnitude Of The PulfrichStereo-Phenomenon As A Function Of Target Velocity”, Alfred Lit, Journalof Experimental Psychology, Vol. 59, No 3, 1960. Placing a neutraldensity filter 3812 over one eye and allowing the other eye to view themotion picture unobstructed actuates the Pulfrich illusion. We againnote that with the Pulfrich illusion both eyes view the same singleimage on a screen 3810. The difference in retinal reaction time allowsthe eyes to view a single image, but the mind is fooled into thinking itis seeing two different images (the lagged and instant images) whenlateral motion is present. Simultaneity allows the mind to put the twoimages together to get a depth-perceived eye-target image with depthperception.

We stress that the Pulfrich illusion will not work if separate right-eyeand left-eye images are presented to the viewer, as is the case withother dual image 3D viewing systems. 3Deeps is incompatible with anydual image 3D system.

FIG. 38A shows the geometry of a viewer wearing 3Deeps Filter Spectacle101 in which the left eye 3802 has a shaded filter 3812 and the righteye 3804 is unobstructed. At the top of the figure is a schematicshowing the spectacles 101 with the left lens shaded 106 and the rightlens clear 105. In this figure there is no lateral motion in the motionpicture. The right eye 3804 focuses on an object in the motion picturethat we call the instant image 3830 in a 2D plane on the screen 3810.Even though the left eye 3802 views through a shaded filter lens 3812causing a retinal delay, because there is no motion, the left eye 3802sees a lagging image 3820 that is coincident with the instant image3830, and the brain simultaneously interprets them as the eye target3855 in a 2D plane on the screen. In this case no illusion of depth isprovided by the Pulfrich illusion.

FIG. 38B shows the geometry of a viewer wearing Continuous Adjustable3Deeps Filter Spectacle 101 in which the left eye 3802 has a shadedfilter 3812, and the right eye 3804 is unobstructed. At the top of thefigure is a schematic showing the spectacles 101 with the left lensshaded 106 and the right lens 105 clear. In this figure the direction oflateral motion on the screen is from right-to-left. The right eye 304focuses on an object in the motion picture that we call the instantimage 3830 in a 2D plane on the screen 310. Because the left eye 3802views through a shaded lens 3812, the retinal delay causes the left eye3802 to see the image lagging behind the instant image 3830 also calledthe lagging image 3820. The brain receives the instant image 3830 andthe lagging image 3820 and places them together as an eye target 3855with an illusion of depth in front of the 2D plane of the screen 3810.

In FIG. 38B the distance dScreen 3880 measures the distance between theviewer and the screen, and the distance d 3885 measures the perceiveddistance of the eye target 3855 away from the screen 3810. The distancesd 3885 and dScreen 3880 can be used to provide a measure of the degreeof the depth illusion. One measure of the 3D depth effect is d/dScreenas a percentage. For example if d 3885 is ½ foot, and dScreen 3880 is 10feet, then d/dSceeen is 1/20 and the degree of depth perception is 5%.

With this configuration, if another object in the movie has aframe-to-frame lateral motion from right-to-left that is faster than theinstant image than it will lag the instant image even more and appear tothe viewer even closer than the eye image. If another object in themovie has a frame-to-frame lateral motion from right-to-left that isslower than the instant image than it will lag the instant image lessand appear to the viewer further away than the eye image. This is incomplete agreement with how the mind interprets motion parallax as a cuefor depth perception.

FIG. 38C shows the geometry of a viewer wearing Continuous Adjustable3Deeps Filter Spectacle 101 in which the left eye 3802 has a shadedfilter 3812, and the right eye 3804 is unobstructed. At the top of thefigure is a schematic showing the spectacle with the left lens 106shaded and the right lens 105 clear. The only difference between FIG.38C and FIG. 38B is that in this figure the direction of lateral motionon the screen is from left-to-right. The right eye still focuses on anobject in the motion picture that we call the instant image 3830 in a 2Dplane on the screen 3810 in the same place as in FIG. 38B. Because theleft eye 3802 is shaded, the retinal delay causes the left eye 3802 tosee the image lagging 3820 behind the instant image 3830. The brainreceives the instant image 3830 and the lagging image 3820 and placesthem together as an eye target 3855 appearing in 3D behind the 2D planeof the screen 3810. The distance dScreen 3880 measures the distancebetween the viewer and the screen and is shown as the same distance asin FIG. 38B. The distance d 3890 is a negative number since it is behindthe screen, and d/dScreen measures the degree of the depth illusion.

The geometry for a viewer wearing Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles in which the right eye has a shaded filter and the left eyehas a clear filter is similar. If in FIG. 38B the filter had been shownfiltering the right eye rather than the left eye, then the right eyewould see a lagging image so that the eye image would appear behind the2D plane of the screen. If in FIG. 3C the filter had been shownfiltering the right eye rather than the left eye, then the right eyewould see a lagging image so that the eye image would appear in front ofthe 2D plane of the screen.

In FIG. 39, curve 3900 uses the typical curve 3710 of retinal reactiontime 3703 as a function of luminosity 3701 to explain the working ofCardboard Pulfrich Spectacles 3990 with fixed lenses. The standardcardboard Pulfrich spectacle 3990 comes with a clear lens (usually theleft eye) and a neutral density lens of fixed optical density (usuallycovering the right eye). There is no provision to change the lens. Theoptical densities of the clear and neutral lens filters 3990 are fixedand the only variable is the retinal luminance. Different luminance willoccur for instance depending upon the lighting of the viewing venue. Oneimmediate problem is that because the gray filter lens is fixed in theframes and cannot be changed, all motion must be in a singledirection—usually from left-to-right. To address this problem, moviesviewed through cardboard Pulfrich filters 3990 have been limited toscenes that have either no motion or motion in only a single direction.This problem can be termed the direction of motion constraint.

A second problem is that for a given speed of lateral motion, as theluminosity changes, the amount of depth perception will change. Thisproblem is demonstrated by looking at the retinal reaction curve 3710 inFIG. 39. It shows the difference in retinal reaction time c 3915 and.DELTA..sub.2 3925 between the two eyes for two different values ofambient light (unaided eye). With bright ambient light the cardboardPulfrich spectacles 3990 indicated on the figure by bracket 3910 producea difference in retinal delay of Ai 3915. Luminance of the clear lensintersects 3930 the retinal reaction curve 3710 and the luminancethrough the neutral density filter intersects 3933 the retinal reactioncurve 3710 to yield a difference 3915 in retinal reaction time of.DELTA..sub.1. Similarly if the luminance is darker then the difference3925 in retinal reaction time is a value .DELTA..sub.2. Darker ambientlight indicated on the figure by bracket 3920 produces a difference inretinal delay of .DELTA..sub.2 3925 that is significantly greater than.DELTA..sub.1. This is a function of the relationship between luminance3701 and retinal reaction time 3703. Increasing luminance results in anincrease in the visual latency period. Note that with bright ambientlight, the difference (.DELTA..sub.1) 3915 in retinal reaction time issmaller than the difference (.DELTA..sub.2) 3925 in retinal reactiontime, so the depth illusion is greater in a darker room rather than alighter room.

A related problem is that as speed of lateral motion changes but for afixed luminosity, the amount of depth perception will also change. Thisis unnatural and another problem with cardboard Pulfrich spectacles3990. A scene should maintain the same amount of depth perceptionindependent of the speed of objects in the scene. To address theseproblems, movies produced for viewing through cardboard Pulfrich filter3990 may try to maintain a constant luminosity and speed of motion. Thatis these problems severely constrain the content of the movie. This canbe referred to as oscillating visualization of depth.

Also, since cardboard Pulfrich Spectacles 3990 only has one neutraldensity filter it is usually very dark resulting in more loss of lightthan is necessary to actuate the proper 3D depth illusion. This problemcan be referred to as over-darkening.

Another problem is that the depth perception will change depending onthe lighting of the venue in which the motion picture is shown. Indarkened theaters, the perception of depth will be larger than whenviewing the movie in a brightly lit home environment, since thedifference in retinal delay is greater in a darkened environment than awell-lit environment. This may mean the 3D depth illusion will beattenuated in a dark movie theater and muted in a well-lit home theater.The implication is that the same movie, viewed through cardboardPulfrich spectacles 3990, will view 3D depth differently depending onthe lighting of the venue. This problem can be referred to as avenue-dependency.

One way to illustrate the problem with cardboard Pulfrich spectacles3990 with a fixed neutral density filter is that as luminance changesthe degree of depth perception is also constantly changing and will onlyrarely and per chance be at the level of normal stereoscopic vision.Note that in FIG. 39 the horizontal lines that give the readings on theretinal reaction time scale all have their arrows pointing towards thescale which is due to the fact that with cardboard Pulfrich spectacles3990 there is no control over the retinal reaction rime for either eye,and no control for the difference in retinal reaction time between theeyes.

FIG. 40 and FIG. 41 use the retinal reaction time curve 3710 to show howto calculate an optical density for the controllable neutral densityfilter that optimizes the Pulfrich illusion. The approach that isdescribed solves the problems with the cardboard Pulfrich spectacles3990, including the direction of motion constraint, oscillatingvisualization of depth, over-darkening, and venue-dependency problems.

In this embodiment of the invention, the Continuous Adjusting 3DeepsFilter Spectacles are controlled to provide a neutral density filterthat has an optical density so that the distance between the laggedimage that is seen by the eye obstructed by the neutral filter, and theimage seen by the unobstructed image, is 2½ inches. This distance, 2½inches, is the average distance between a viewer's eyes—also called theinter-ocular distance. That is, the optical density of the neutralfilter is chosen dependent on (1) speed of motion on the screen, (2) theluminance reaching the unobstructed eye, and (3) so that the delayedimage from the filtered eye appears 2½ inches behind image from theunfiltered eye.

Consider the following—normal stereoscopic vision is obtained by viewinga 3-dimensional world from the vantage point of a left and right eyethat are about 2½ inches apart (the average inter-ocular distance). Eacheye sees the same image but from the slightly different vantage of eyesthat are separated by approximately 2½ inches. To get an optimal 3Deepsstereoscopic depth illusion we turn this around. When viewing a motionpicture on a TV or in a movie theater each eye is viewing the exact sameimage in a 2-dimensional plane of the screen. An optimal Pulfrichillusion will occur via the Pulfrich illusion when the difference inretinal reaction time results in instant and lagging images that appear2½ inches apart.

This number, 2½ inches, is also used in other 3D viewing systems.Cameras for recording dual-image 3D systems that are viewed usinganaglyph spectacles, shutter-glasses, IMAX, or Polaroid spectacles usecameras with lenses that are lashed together to have a separation of 2½inches between the lenses that record same scene right-eye and ‘left-eyeimages.

Geometrically, in normal stereoscopic vision the eyes, separated by theinter-ocular distance, triangulate on an object. In the preferredembodiment of the invention each eye sees instant and lagging imagesseparated by the inter-ocular distance and the mind triangulates to geta stereoscopic eye image. In the two cases we have the sametriangulation and geometry so the 3Deeps visualization is what the mindexpects to see. The calculations for this preferred embodiment are shownin FIG. 40. This provides depth perception that is entirely natural.

In FIG. 40, curve 4000 uses the typical curve 3710 of retinal reactiontime 3703 as a function of luminosity 3701 to demonstrate how to computefrom a motion vector and luminosity the optimal optical density for theneutral density lens of the preferred embodiment of the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles so that the difference in retinalreaction time between the viewer's eyes results in instant and laggingimages correspond to a separation on the display monitor of exactly 2½inches. The figure describes an algorithm f.sub.PrefEmb(Luminance,LatScrMotion) that has luminance and a motion vector as input (negativevalue for right-to-left lateral motion and a positive value forleft-to-right lateral motion. The algorithm f.sub.PrefEmb(Luminance,LatScrMotion) is described in more detail in FIG. 41.

First we measure the ambient luminance or brightness 4010. This is thefirst input parameter. Luminance represents the amount of light that theunaided eye will see through the clear lens. Using the retinal reactiontime curve 3710 we can establish the retinal reaction time delay. In ourexample we have an input luminance measure 4010 of 0.52 cd/m2, that fromthe retinal reaction time curve 3710 corresponds 4011 to a retinalreaction time delay 4012 of 120 msec. The second input parameter is thespeed of lateral motion. For this example we assume a left-to-rightlateral screen motion of 100 dots (pixels) per frame. That is the majorobject on the screen (for example a speeding car) is traveling acrossthe screen from frame to frame at the speed of 100 dots per frame. Weassume the motion picture is being viewed on a quality monitor with apixel resolution of 100 dots per inch. This computes to taking 2½ framesto move 2½ inches across the screen. If the TV has a refresh rate of 60Hz (60 frames per second) then it will take 2.5/60= 1/24 orapproximately 42 msec for the screen object to traverse 2½ inches on thescreen. That is, we want the retinal reaction time difference 4018between the two eyes to be 42 milliseconds. Adding the 42 msec to 120msec computes to 162 msec retinal reaction time 4013 to affect a 42millisecond retinal reaction time difference 518 between the two eyes.Now going back to the intercept 4014 on the retinal reaction curve 3710we see that we need to choose an optical density for the neutral densitylens that will give us a luminance reading 4015 of about −0.6 on theluminance scale. If the direction of the lateral motion is fromleft-to-right, the right lens will take this optical density and theright lens will be clear.

The algorithm f.sub.PrefEmb(Luminance, LatScrMotion) provides thecomputation of the optical density of the neutral density lensf.sub.PrefEmb(Luminance, LatScrMotion) and more detail is provided inFIG. 41.

This is then the method by which we can compute the optical density ofthe neutral density lens that is optimal in that the 3D depth perceptionas viewed through the 3Deeps Filter Spectacles will be exactly the sameas for normal human stereoscopic vision.

FIG. 41 provides some more detail of the steps of the algorithm 4100 butin tabular form. In Step 14110 the direction and speed of motion iscalculated. The search for a moving object is limited to an upperbounded region 4111 and a lower bounded region 4112 of the movie. Theupper bounded region 4111 is a surrogate for the image background andthe lower bounded region 4112 a surrogate for the image foreground. Thesingle most prominent moving object 4115 in the background 4111, and thesingle most prominent object 4116 in the foreground 4112 surrogateregions are tracked between frames of the motion picture and thehorizontal component of the motion is calculated as direction (right- toleft or left-to-right) and speed (in units of pixels per inch or dotsper inch). A negative horizontal speed motion represents motion fromright-to-left, and a positive horizontal speed motion represents motionfrom left-to-right. A reading of 0 for speed of motion means that thereis no discernable foreground of background object in motion.

The method presented in Step 14110 to find the measure the motion in theframe of the moving picture is only exemplary and is over-simplified toteach the principle. Any algorithm that allows us to quantify thedirection and speed of lateral motion in a motion picture frame can beused. The video industry has expended considerable resources on R&D todevelop image processing algorithms used for video format conversion totrack motion of objects between frames of a motion picture, and Step 1would derive benefit from use of that body of research. Many of thevideo format conversion chips used in digital TVs, up-converters, anddigital projectors track numerous moving objects from frame-to-frame toperform the best possible format conversion of object in motion. Inalternate embodiments it would be beneficial to use a subset pr theentire set of motion vectors to calculate a single speed and directionof motion that characterizes motion in the moving picture.

In Step 2 4120, the background horizontal vector LatScrMotion.sub.Top4115 is subtracted from the foreground horizontal vectorLatScrMotion.sub.Bot 4116 to get an overall measure (LatScrMotion) ofthe instantaneous motion associated with the frame of the motionpicture, and the value is stored.

In step 3 4130 the Luminance value is calculated and stored. In thisteaching example the Luminance is estimated as the average brightness ofall Pixels in the frame. Other embodiments may use other means toquantify luminance. In step 4 4140 the two input value, speed of lateralmotion (LatScrMotion) and Luminance are used as input value in thealgorithm described in FIG. 40 to get the value of the optical densityfor the neutral density lens—i.e. the value of f.sub.PrefEmb(Luminance,LatScrMotion) from FIG. 40. A decision procedure 4150 is then used toget the optical density for each of the 3Deeps spectacle lenses. If thelateral screen motion (LatScrMotion) is zero (dpi) or near-zero (−10dpi<LatScrMotion<10 dpi) then both lenses will be set to the ClearStateoptical density value (OD). If the lateral screen motion in a directionfrom right-to-left then set the left lens to the calculated valuef.sub.PrefEmb(Luminance, LatScrMotion) 4140 and the right lens to clear.If the lateral screen motion is in a direction from left-to-right thenset the right lens to the calculated value f.sub.PrefEmb(Luminance,LatScrMotion) 4140 and the left lens to clear.

This overcomes the problems with cardboard Pulfrich lenses 3990.Firstly, the 3Deeps Filter Spectacle lenses always take the correctstate consonant with the direction of motion on the screen. Secondly,rather than the depth perception fluctuating as with cardboard Pulfrichfilter 3990, the optical density of the neutral density lens fluctuatesto provide the constant degree of depth perception that the mind expectsfrom its everyday vision of reality. Third, the 3Deeps Filter Spectaclelenses do not over-darken but always take an optical value since theycan conform to speed of motion and luminance. And finally, sinceluminance is accounted for, the motion picture will view the sameregardless of whether viewed in a darkened movie theater, or a well-lithome theater environ.

Before describing alternate means to select the optical density for afilter to produce the Pulfrich illusion, it is useful to considerfurther how to determine the parameters that are used to calculate anoptimal optical density for the neutral lens of the Pulfrich FilterSpectacles. The two parameters are (a) a motion vector that describesthe speed and direction of lateral motion in the motion picture, and (b)luminance or brightness of the motion picture.

Motion Measures in a Motion Picture

In order to address de-interlacing and up-conversion format problemswith motion picture recording, broadcast and display, various algorithmshave been developed to determine the direction and speed of motion in amotion picture, and many of these algorithms have been implemented insoftware and hardware devices.

Consider an input signal to a TV which is 30 frames per second (forexample as from analog TV) but that is being output and shown on ahigh-end digital LCD TV running at 120 frames per second. Showing a TVinput signal of 30 fps at an output of 120 fps is an example of formatconversion that is done by many different format conversion apparatus.One simple way to do this format conversion is for the chip to simplyadd 3 exact copies of each frame to the output stream. That works ifthere is no motion, but if a screen object exhibits any motion betweenframes then the 3 new frames have the moving object in the wrong place.The better and more expensive the digital TV, the worse this problemappears to the viewer. So the better format-conversion chips performcomplex frame-to-frame image processing and track speed and direction ofmotion and then use that information to better construct the 3 newframes. But estimating speed and direction of motion between frames(which these devices already do) is also sufficient information tocalculate the timing and optimal optical density for the neutral(shaded) density lens of the 3Deeps (which the devices do not do).

This is an oversimplified example of video format conversion, but thatis useful for teaching purposes. State-of-the art format-conversionchips may also have functions to do some or all of thefollowing—adaptive motion de-interlacing, edge smoothing, intelligentimage scaling, black level extension, digital noise reduction, autoflesh-tone correction, as well as other complex image processingfunctions.

Many companies have already developed the image processing algorithmsand implemented them in Integrated Chip circuitry. Philips describedtheir semiconductor MELZONIC chip in the following way: “Afterexhaustive investigation and computer simulation, researchers at Philipsdeveloped a totally new technique for motion estimation which they havecalled ‘3-D Recursive Search Block-Matching’. By analyzing twosuccessive TV fields to locate blocks of pixels in the second field thatmatch blocks in the first, 3-D Recursive Search Block-Matching is ableto assign a velocity vector to each block of pixels in the first field.These velocity vectors can then be used to interpolate the correctspatial position of each pixel block in a new field that is positionedtemporally between the two original fields—i.e. to create new movementphases.”

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,717,415, Iue describes “Motion Vector Detecting” byanalysis of successive frames of a motion picture. The motion vectorsare used to develop separate left-eye and right-eye images so that 2Dmovies may be viewed as 3D movies. There is no disclosure nor suggestionthat the motion vectors be used in a single-image system withcontrollable Pulfrich spectacles.

In essence, digital TV and digital cinema rely upon variousimplementation of video format conversion, and make extensive use ofmotion adaptive algorithms implemented as hardware and software todetect and quantify motion between frames. They use such information toenhance the quality of the video output signal. All such hardware andsoftware implementation that detect and quantify a motion vector can beused advantageously for Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

Luminance Measures in a Motion Picture

By luminance we mean brightness. However since the motion picture isviewed through 3Deeps spectacles, luminance of the screen picture may becalculated in many different ways. We could use the screen luminance ofthe motion picture, the ambient light of the room, or a measure of lightarriving at the eye of the viewer.

For standard analog TV signals, every raster point on the TV screen hasan attached luminance value as part of the TV signal. Screen luminancemay be calculated as an average of all screen luminance values. Othermeans may be used to calculate a luminance measure of each screen framefor analog TVs. Similarly, different means may be used to calculate anoverall luminance measure for digital TVs.

While luminance of the picture is one factor in setting the opticaldensity of the neutral lens of the Pulfrich Filter Spectacles, ambientlight of the room or theater in which the motion picture is viewed needalso be considered. Many TVs already have built in luminance control.The Philips Electronics Ambilight technology used in their flat-panelsis an RGB backlight that changes color based on the on-screen image. Afilter is used to calculate the average color on the top, left and rightborder of the screen that is then sent to a micro controller thatcontrols three separate banks of red, green and blue cold-cathodes.

Also, some TVs will sense ambient light and can use that information toadjust the brightness of the picture. In a bright room they will show abrighter picture while when they sense a darkened room they can presenta more subdued picture. This is done in part to extend the life of theLCD and plasma screens that are used in digital TVs and projectors.

Recalling that the primary mechanism by which the Pulfrich illusionworks is the difference in retinal reaction time triggered by a neutrallens covering one eye, the retinal illuminance is a more importantfactor than screen luminance in developing depth perspective via 3DeepsFilter Spectacles.

In FIG. 44, described later, we use a photodiode located on theContinuous Adjusting 3Deeps Filter Spectacles as a surrogate measure forretinal luminance. Each of the algorithmic embodiments shown in FIG. 40,FIG. 43, and FIG. 45 could preferably use luminance measures of thedisplay venue or retinal illuminance rather than the luminance of themotion picture in their calculations. If we were using the algorithm ofthe preferred embodiment, speed and direction of motion would need to betransmitted to the 3Deeps Filter Spectacles that would then useluminance and the motion vector with the algorithm of the preferredembodiment to calculate and set the optical value of the neutral densitylens of the 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

FIG. 42 is an illustration of an alternate algorithm 4200 that can beused to characterize lateral motion in a motion picture. It estimates 4motion vectors—an upper-right (UR) 4232 and upper-left (UL) 4231 motionvectors to estimate background lateral motion, and a lower-right (LR)4233 and lower-left (LL) 4234 motion vectors to estimate foregroundlateral motion. Each vector is estimated from its non-overlappingregions in the frame of the movie. In this sample algorithm the mostprominent motion vector in the Upper Right 4222, Upper Left 4221, LowerRight 4224, and Lower Left 4223 regions are identified. Each of these 4vectors can take any of 3 value; it may be moving either right-to-left(negative lateral speed motion 4242) or moving left-to-right (positivelateral speed motion 4243), or if there is no motion the lateralcomponent of the vector has a value of 0 4245. That is there are 81(3.sup.4) possible combinations. Each of the 81 combinations might haveseparate and distinct computation in this alternate algorithm.

One of the 81 possible combinations has the UR 4232, UL 4231, LR 4233and LL 4234 each having a value of 0. This is what would be expectedwhen there is no motion on the screen as for instance during a close-upon a single character speaking. This case would be result in both lensesof the 3Deeps Filter Spectacles taking the same or clear state(ClearStateOD).

Another of the 81 possible combinations would have both the UR 4232 andLR 4233 vector showing right-to-left motion (negative values), and boththe UL 4231 and LL 4234 showing left-to-right motion (positive values).This is what would be expected when the camera is receding and expandinga scene and the primary component of motion comes from the action of thecamera panning. (This is exactly the scenario in the famous railroadyard scene from “Gone with the Wind”, in which Scarlett O'Hara played byVivien Leigh walks across the screen from the right as the camera slowlypulls back to show the uncountable wounded and dying confederatesoldiers.) In this case the alternate algorithm would calculate thevalue UL+LL+UR+LR as the LatScrMotion 4120. If this value were negativethen the algorithm 4150 would set the right lens to the ClearStateOD andthe left lens to a darkened state in accordance with the valuef.sub.PrefEmb(Luminance, LatScrMotion) 4140. If this value were positivethen the algorithm 4150 would set the left lens to the ClearStateOD andthe right lens to a darkened state in accordance with this valuef.sub.PrefEmb(Luminance, LatScrMotion) 4140.

Each of the other 79 cases would similarly have appropriatecalculations.

Each of the 2 algorithms presented for teaching use the notion ofselecting the most prominent motion vector in a region. In thesealgorithms we define that as the longest edge in the search region thatis exhibiting motion. Other definitions may be used. For instance,within a scene the algorithm may use this definition to first identify aprominent edge. The identified edge may then persist throughout otherframes as long as it continues to appear in subsequent frames, even ifthat edge is no longer the longest edge in the region. Other algorithmmay continue to track this edge through subsequent frames, even were itto move out of the search region.

While two algorithms have been used to characterize lateral motion in amotion picture from a set of motion vectors, other algorithms may beadvantageously employed. Motion pictures are filmed so that the majoraction takes place in the center of the screen. Other algorithms tocharacterize lateral motion in a motion picture from a set of motionvectors may then search for the major vector of motion in the center ofthe screen and use motion vectors from the top of the screen (asurrogate for background) and motion vectors from the bottom of thescreen (a surrogate for foreground) to estimate parallax in the frame ofthe motion picture. The major vector of motion and estimate of parallaxcan then be used to determine the optimal optical density of the neutraldensity filter. In another approach, an algorithm to characterizelateral motion in a motion picture would focus on the regions of themovie that are well lit. Cinematographers compose film, using light tofocus attention and highlight the most important action in the scene.This may be useful in delimiting the portion of the frame of the motionpicture to which an algorithm to characterize lateral motion in a motionpicture frame is restricted. It should be appreciated that from thelarge number of motion vectors between frames of a motion picture, thereare many different algorithms that can be advantageously used toquantify a motion vector that characterizes motion in a frame of amotion picture that is used to determine the optimal optical density ofthe neutral density filter.

A First Alternate Embodiment

Motion pictures are often viewed on small, personal devices such as anApple iPod. Such devices have small screens and are held within armsreach for viewing. For such devices the preferred embodiment thatoptimizes the Optical Density of the neutral density lens to an averageinter-ocular distance may be inappropriate. We provide other alternateembodiments, either of which is appropriate for small viewing devices,as well as for TV or movie theater viewing.

FIG. 43 shows the use of the retinal reaction time curve 3710 for afirst alternate embodiment algorithm 4300 to calculate the opticaldensity of the neutral density lens. The x-axis 3701 shows luminance,and the y-axis 3703 shows retinal reaction time. Observe that the amountof light produced by a motion picture is constantly changing. Some nightscenes in a movie produce low light, and other scenes such on the openseas at noon are much brighter. In this first alternate embodiment,rather choose an optical density for the neutral filter so that there isa separation of 2½ inches between the instant and delayed image to theeye (as in the preferred embodiment), we may choose to fix thedifference (.DELTA.) 4320 between retinal reaction time of the eyes.Then as retinal illumination to the unfiltered eye changes, the opticaldensity of the neutral filter is chosen to produce a constant differencein reaction time between the right and left eyes. It will be seen thatthis has some advantages.

In this example, assume as in FIG. 40 that the luminance 4310 is 0.54.As demonstrated in FIG. 40 that relates 4311 to a retinal reaction time4312 for the unaided eye of 120 msec. For this example choose a fixeddifference .DELTA. 4320 between the retinal reaction time of the twoeyes of 100 msec, which computes to a retinal reaction time 4313 for thefiltered eye of 220 msec (120+100). Then going back to the intercept4314 on the retinal reaction time curve 3710, we need to pick an opticaldensity for the neutral density filter so the luminance 4315 to the eyeis −1.3.

Similarly as the measured value of luminance changes, this algorithm canbe used with new values of luminance to calculate a changing opticaldensity for the neutral density filter. This algorithm only uses anestimate of retinal luminance as input. One benefit of this algorithm isthat it only requires the luminance and direction of motion, but not thespeed of lateral motion. Thus it is much less computationally intensive,but will provide Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps spectacles that takestates conforming to the direction of motion and conforms to the valueof luminance. It also affords a means by which the calculation ofoptical density for the neutral density filter can be implemented on theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, since luminance can besensed by the spectacles. This may lessen the computational requirementfor the Phenomenoscope described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/372,723.

In FIG. 44, 4400 shows 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 4410 that include aphotodiode 4420 on the frame of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles. A photodiode 4420 is a type of photodetector capable ofconverting light into either current or voltage, depending upon the modeof operation. The output of the photodiode 4420 provides a measure ofthe amount of light arriving at the frame of the Continuous Adjustable3Deeps Filter Spectacles 4410, and is a good surrogate measure ofretinal illuminance. This surrogate luminosity measure is input to aLens Control Unit 103, also on the spectacles, and used with thealgorithm described in the first alternate embodiment to calculate theoptical density of the neutral density filter. In this example thedirection of motion must still be determined and depending upon thedirection of motion the Right Len 105 and the Left Lens 106 will take anoptical density of either the ClearStateOD or the calculated neutraldensity optical density. If this value is determined by a control deviceexternal to the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles then suchinformation must be communicated to the Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles according to one of the various methods as describedin co-pending patents and patent applications. If the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles are the Phenomenoscope described inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/372,723, then the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles themselves can determine ifinter-frame motion is present, and if so in which direction.

A Second Alternate Embodiment

FIG. 45 uses the typical curve 3710 of retinal reaction time 3703 as afunction of Luminance 3701 to demonstrate a second alternate embodiment4500 for computing an optimal optical densities for the neutral densitylens of the Continuous Alternating 3Deeps Filter Spectacles so that thedifference (.DELTA.) 4518 in retinal reaction time between the viewer'seyes corresponds to a fixed number of frames of the motion picture.

In this second alternate embodiment, rather choose an optical densityfor the neutral filter so that there is a separation of the averageinter-ocular distance (2½ inches) between the instant and delayed imageto the eye (as in the preferred embodiment), we may choose to have adifference (.DELTA.) 4518 between retinal reaction time chosen so thatthe instant and lagging image are a fixed number of movie frames. Itwill be seen that this has some advantages.

In this example, assume as in FIG. 40 that the luminance 4510 is 0.54.This is at a point 4511 on the retinal reaction time curve 3710 of(0.54, 0.120). As demonstrated in FIG. 40 that relates to a retinalreaction time 4512 for the unaided eye of 120 msec. Assuming for thisexample a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz, a delay of 10 frames can beachieved by having a difference in retinal reaction time 4518 of 166msec. (That is 10/60=⅙ second=166 msec). From a base of 120 msec that is120+166=286 msec (4513). Taking that as the ordinate value, the retinalreaction time 3710 curve intercept is at a point 4514 on the retinalreaction curve 3710, and we need to select an optical density of theneutral density lens of −1.7 4515.

As the measured value of luminance changes, this algorithm can be usedas the only input to calculate optical density for the neutral densityfilter. The benefit of this algorithm is that it also only requires theluminance and direction of motion, but not the speed of lateral motion.Thus it is much less computationally intensive, will provide ContinuousAlternating 3Deeps Filter Spectacles that take states conforming to thedirection of motion and conforms to the value of luminance. It alsoaffords a means by which the calculation of optical density for theneutral density filter can be performed by the Continuous Alternating3Deeps Filter Spectacles. This may greatly lessen the computationalrequirement for the Phenomenoscope described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/372,723.

Video and 3Deeps Processing

Various algorithms have been described to determine the optimal densityfor the neutral density filter of the Continuous Alternating 3DeepsFilter Spectacles. Whether the calculations are performed by embeddeddedicated hardware, or by software running on a CPU, the Video and3Deeps processing of the preferred embodiment will have the followingfunctions; (1) take as video input the frames of a motion picture, (2)perform video format conversions to address de-interlacing andup-converter conversion problems, (3) output the converted video, (4)calculate a motion vector, luminance, and optimal optical density, (5)and output the 3Deeps control information to the Continuous Alternating3Deeps Filter Spectacles. FIG. 46 teaches how to incorporate methods ofthis invention with such video formatters. FIG. 47 is a block diagramshowing operation of a Video and 3Deeps processing used to calculate theoptimal optical density of the neutral density filter in the preferredembodiment of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

FIG. 46 is a flowchart 4600 showing the use of a format conversionsemiconductor chip 4620 to compute the Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles synchronization information. Video Format conversionchips are used to convert a movie from one format such as interlaced 60Hz to another format such as non-interlaced 120 Hz.

Across the top, the flowchart shows the video format conversion chip4620 in its normal operation. To emphasize that the step is performed bya semiconductor chip, it is shown with a depiction of the pins 4690 of asemiconductor chip. As is typical with format conversion chip, it inputsframes (analog or digital) 4610 of the motion picture, and outputssuitably reformatted digital versions 4630 of the movie. Within theformat conversion semiconductor chip 4620 image processing algorithmsperform motion vector detection and quantify and extract the motionvector(s) and Luminosity values (4621) and use them to reformat thevideo (4622) for output.

The motion vector(s) (MV) and Luminosity value (L) are output by theformat conversion IC and are read and stored 4651 by another processingunit that implements any of the previously described algorithms tocalculate the optical density value of the neutral density frame. Theoutput motion vector (MV) and luminosity (L) measures are stored 4652.They are then read by a computing device 4653, which incorporates any ofthe teaching algorithms herein described, or uses another algorithm tocompute the LatScrMotion for each frame and output the value of theoptical density of the neutral density filter. A decision rule 4654 willthen determine the setting for the right and left lenses of the 3DeepsFilter Spectacles. If the LatScrMotion=0 (4661) then both lenses are setto a clear optical density (4671). If the LatScrMotion<0 (4660) thenscreen motion is from right-to-left and the left lens will be set to thecorresponding darkened optical density and the right lens will have theclear optical density (4670). If the LatScrMotion>0 (4662) then screenmotion is from left-to-right and the right lens will be set to thecorresponding darkened optical density and the left lens will have theclear optical density (4672). The results are formulated 4680 intoContinuous Alternating 3Deeps Filter Spectacle control information, andtransmitted 4695 synchronously with the motion picture. The controlinformation is described in FIG. 3. In one embodiment, the controlinformation is transmitted wirelessly, but other embodiments may usewired means.

In another embodiment (not shown) the algorithm to compute the3DeepsFilter Spectacle synchronization information is included entirelywithin the format conversion semiconductor rather than on a secondcomputer processor. In this case the format conversion chip not onlyinputs frames (analog or digital) of the motion picture, and outputssuitably reformatted versions of the movie, but also calculates andreports out the 3Deeps Filter Spectacle synchronization information.

FIG. 47 is a block diagram 4700 showing more detail of the operation ofthe Video and 3Deeps processing module 4790 used to calculate theoptimal optical density of the neutral density filter in the preferredembodiment of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

If the motion picture is analogue then it is input using the AnalogueAudio/Video input 4701. The analogue is fed to an Analogue to DigitalConverter 4705 module that converts it to digital format frame by frame.A Memory-Control-In module 4710 stores the digital frames in Memory4715. Each successive frame is stored in a different memory sectiondenoted f1-f4. Other embodiments may have significantly more framememory. The first frame of the motion picture would be stored in memorysection f1, the second frame in f2, the third frame in f3, and thefourth frame stored in memory section f4. The frame memory will thenroll over—with frame 5 stored in frame memory f1, frame 6 stored in f2,and so on. While this is happening in real-time other module of theVideo and 3Deeps Processing module 4790 will also be accessing the framememory, and performing the required calculations for each frame. Oncethe motion vector detection 4725, Luminance 4730, and 3Deeps OD andSynchronization 4735 calculations are performed, the associated motionpicture frame stored in frame memory f.sub.i 4715 is no longer neededand can be overwritten by rolling over the storage location number inframe memory 4715.

The analogue 4701 is also directed unchanged to an analogue audio/videoout module 4740. The analogue A/V out 4740 data is precisely the same asthe Analogue A/V In 4701, without any format conversion. Otherembodiments of the Video and 3Deeps Processing module 4790 may performformat conversion or reformatting of the analogue input signal beforeoutput of the analogue signal. Also, the output from the Analogue toDigital Converter is routed to the Digital Audio/Video Out module 4759.Before it is output at the Digital A/V Out 4759, it is processed by theReformat Video module 4780 using as input the output from the Luminance4730 and Motion Vector Detection 4725 modules. In this way the motionpicture Analogue A/V 4701 is available for output both as the originalAnalogue A/V out 4740, and also in a reformatted digital A/V out 4759.

The Video and 3Deeps Processing module 4790 may also accept the motionpicture in a digital format using module Digital A/V In 4702. In thiscase the Analogue to Digital converter 4705 is not used. The Digital A/Vwill be routed to the Digital A/V Out 4759 in the same way as previouslydescribed. That is before it is output at the Digital A/V Out 4759, itpasses through Reformat Video module 4780 using as input the output fromthe Luminance 4730 and Motion Vector Detection 4725 modules.

The Digital A/V 4702 will also be processed by the Memory-Control-Inmodule 4710, and stored in the digital frame memory 4715. The frameswill be stored as previously described with successive frames stored inhigh labeled frame buffers, and rolling over when the highest framenumbered frame buffer has been reached.

Consider now the processing of a current frame. The Memory-Control-Outmodule 4720 will fetch the corresponding current frame from the framememory 4715 and input it for processing to the Luminance calculationmodule 4730, and the Motion Vector Detection module 4725. The motiondetection module 4725 will also reference the previous frame from framememory 4715. In this simplified preferred embodiment, for teachingpurposes, only two frames of the motion picture are used to estimate alateral motion vector in the motion picture. In other embodiment manymore frames may be used to estimate the lateral motion vector.Algorithms for the calculation of the lateral motion vector have beendescribed in this and co-pending patent applications. Any of thosealgorithms may be used or other algorithms well known in the art, orthat are already in use by format conversion chips. Whichever algorithmis used, it is implemented in the Motion Vector Detection module 4735.The calculation of Luminance is as described previously, and thisalgorithm is implemented in the Luminance module 4730. Alternatealgorithms for the calculation of Luminance may be implemented in otherembodiments.

The Luminance module 4730, and the motion vector detection module 4725are also input to the 3Deeps Optical Density and Synchronization module4735. For the preferred embodiment, and the current frame, the algorithmdescribed in FIG. 40 and FIG. 41 is implemented in the 3Deeps OpticalDensity and Synchronization module 4725 that take as input the MotionVector Detection 4725 and Luminance 4730 and calculate the optimaloptical density for the motion-directed lens of the ContinuousAlternating 3Deeps Viewing spectacles. If no lateral motion is detectedthen the output for the right lens is set to a digital valuerepresenting the clear state, and the output for the left lens is set toa digital value representing the clear state.

The control information calculated by the 3Deeps OD and synchronizationmodule 4735 is further described in FIG. 48. If the motion vector is inthe left to right direction then the output for the left lens is set toa digital value representing the clear state and the output for theright lens is set to a value representing the optimal optical densitycalculated by the algorithm in the module of the 3Deeps OD andsynchronization module. If the motion vector is in the right to leftdirection then the output for the left lens is set to a digital valuerepresenting the optimal optical density calculated by the algorithm ofthe 3Deeps OD and synchronization module, and the right lens is set to adigital value representing the clear state. The control information isoutput and transmitted 4695 to the Continuous Alternating 3Deeps FilterSpectacles.

All output values are synchronized for the same frame. That is, when theVideo and 3Deeps processing module 4790 outputs a frame of the motionpicture on the Digital Audio/Video Out 4759, and the same frame on theAnalogue Audio/Video out 4740, it will also output and transmit 4695 theContinuous Alternating 3Deeps Filter Spectacle control information forthat same frame. In other embodiments, the Video and 3Deeps processingmodule 4790 may be embedded wholly or partially embedded in thecircuitry of a video format conversion chip.

Optimal Control of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles

Optical Density Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles areadvanced 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. They are characterized by thereception and utilization of control information that continually adjustthe 3Deeps Filter Spectacles to the optimal optical density to maximizethe Pulfrich illusion for viewing 2D motion video as 3D. But Digital TVshave refresh rates of up to 120 Hz, and many electrochromic materialsare unable to change optical density that fast. Even were the materialsable to change that fast, it may be desirable to continuously moderatethe optical density of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles so there is a continuity and they do not change state tooabruptly. The algorithms implemented in the Control Unit 103 of theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles optimally handle thesynchronization of the refresh rate of a movie to the viewingspectacles. Analogous to the way in which format conversion chips takesan input format and converts to an output format appropriate for theviewing monitor, Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles take theoptimal optical density for the viewing spectacles and ‘render’ them tothe viewing spectacles in a manner appropriate to the lens material fromwhich they are fabricated.

In one embodiment of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles,control information for the spectacles lenses is updated insynchronization with each and every frame of the motion picture. TheControl Unit (described in FIG. 52) of the Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles implements algorithms that utilize this information tooptimize 3D viewing, and provides significant advantage over earlier,but less active 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. One important advantage isthat different Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles made fromdifferent electro-optical lenses can each receive the same controlinformation and but still each operate in an optimal manner appropriateto the lens material from which they are fabricated. In typicaloperation, the Continuous Alternating 3Deeps Filter Spectacles mayreceive the new control and synchronization states for the lenses evenbefore they have finished transitioning to a previous state.

While Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles may synchronizewith every frame of the movie, as do shutter glasses, they are totallydifferent from the operation of shutter glasses. Shutter-glass is a dualimage system that synchronizes to the left and right eye frame images.While the preferred embodiment of Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles synchronize to every single frame of the motion picture, theyprovide a continuously changing optical density with transmission oflight controlled for each eye. Shutter-glass systems always have alight-intercepted state—dependent on whether the image is a right eye orleft eye image, and in which no transmission of light is allowed throughthe lens. In contrast, Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectaclesrequire that there always be transmission of light through both lenses,but are continually adjusting the transmissivity of the lensessynchronized to motion in the movie. A movie made for shutter-glassescannot be viewed with Optical Density Continuing Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles, and shutter-glasses cannot be used for any movie thatcan be viewed in 3D using Optical Density Continuing Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles.

FIG. 48 is a table 4800 showing control information for the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. The control information isorganized by frame 4820 of the motion picture—that is controlinformation is transmitted synchronous with the output frames of themotion picture. If the movie is input at 60 Hz but output to the screenmonitor after format conversion at 100 Hz, then the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacle control information will besynchronized to the output frame rate of 100 Hz. For each frame 4820 theframe number 4801, optical density of the Left Lens 4803, opticaldensity of the right lens 4805, scalar value of the motion vector 4807,direction of the motion vector 4809 (‘-’ for right-to-left lateralmotion, ‘+’ for left-to-right lateral motion, or ‘0’ for not motion),and Luminance 4811 are provided.

The control information requires very low bandwidth. If the informationis transmitted in character format with 9 characters for the framenumber 4801, 5 characters each for the left lens OD 4803, right lens OD4805, Motion Vector 4807, Luminance 4811, and 1 character for thedirection 4809, that is a total of 30 characters for each frame. For afast output format at 120 Hz that is still a low-bandwidth of 3600characters per second easily handled by inexpensive off-the-shelfdigital Transmit/Receive (Tx/Rx) chip pairs.

This control information is sufficient for all the different embodimentsof Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. In the preferredembodiment the control unit 103 on the Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles 100 will receive the control information 4800 but onlyuse the subset of the information that is required. In the preferredembodiment of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, theonly control information that is required is the Left Len OD 4803 andRight Lens OD 4805.

In another embodiment, a photodiode 4420 on the frames of the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles may be used to provide the Luminancecalculation to the algorithm of the first alternate embodiment describedin FIG. 43 implemented in the Control Unit 103. In this case, theOptical Densities calculated and transmitted by the Video and 3DeepsProcessing Module are not used, but must be re-calculated by the ControlUnit 103 of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. Usingthe algorithm of the first alternate embodiment running on the ControlUnit 103, the direction of motion 4809 for each frame will be inputalong with the luminance measure from the photodiode 4420 to providecontrol of the right 105 and left 106 lenses of the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 101. Similarly, other embodimentsmay use different subsets of the control information 4800 to control theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 101. An advantage ofContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles is that if two viewersare sitting side-by-side, one with spectacles that incorporate in thecontrol unit 103 the algorithm of the preferred embodiment (FIG. 40 andFIG. 41), and the second viewer with spectacles that incorporate in thecontrol unit 103 the algorithm of the first alternate embodiment (FIG.43), both will view the movie optimally for their respective spectacles.

Recall from FIG. 3 that all circuits on the Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles 101 are powered by the battery 104, including theControl Unit 103, Signal Receiving Unit 102, the Left Lens 106, and theRight Lens 105. The control information 110 previously described in FIG.48 is received by the Signal Receiving Unit 102 and to the Control Unit103. The control unit 103 implements an algorithm that is specific forthe lens materials used in the fabrication of the right lens 105 and theleft lens 106 of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, andcontrols the left lens 106 with a control circuit 303, and the rightlens with a control circuit 305.

This approach has great advantages. The control information 110 isspectacle-agnostic; i.e. all spectacles receive the same transmittedcontrol information. The control unit 103 on the spectacles performs afinal view-spectacle-specific optimization, translating the controlinformation into control signals specific to the lens material used tofabricate the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles. Twoviewers sitting side-by-side and watching the same video on a digital TVbut wearing Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles that havelens material with totally different characteristics, will each see themovie with an illusion of 3D optimized for their spectacles.

Electro-Optical Lenses

Some embodiments of the Optical Density Continuing Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles use electrochromic lenses. Electrochromism is thephenomenon displayed by some chemicals of reversibly changing color whenan electric potential is applied. There are many different families ofchemicals that exhibit such properties including but not limited topolyaniline, viologens, polyoxotungstates's and tungsten oxide. Withineach family, different mixtures of chemicals produce differentproperties that affect the color, transmissivity, and transition time.For instance Some electrochromics may only affect ultraviolet light—notvisible light—appearing as a clear plastic to an observer since they donot affect visible light. Electrochromics have been the object of studyfor several decades, and have found their chief use in smart windowswhere they can reliably control the amount of light and heat allowed topass through windows, and has also been used in the automobile industryto automatically tint rear-view mirrors in various lighting conditions.

The operating characteristics of each formulation of an electrochromicmaterial will be different. Some electrochromic materials may takeseveral seconds to change state from one optical density toanother—others may be near instantaneous. For many electrochromicmaterials the color change is persistent and electric potential needonly be applied to effect a change. For such persistent electro-opticalmaterials, only an electronic on-off pulse is needed, whilenon-persistent materials require the application of a continuingelectronic potential. Other materials may attain state under thepresence of electric potential, but then slowly leak potential andchange back. These materials may require a maintenance potential tomaintain state but one that is different from that to attain the opticaldensity state.

One embodiment of the Continuing Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles canbe fabricated from a persistent electrochromic material. For someelectrochromic materials, the transition time moving from a lighter to adarker optical density (FIG. 50) is different from that of thetransition time moving from a darker to a lighter optical density (FIG.51). While electrochromic material can be used in the preferredembodiment of the optical density Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles, any electro-optical materials that change optical density inresponse to an applied potential may be used. This includes but is notlimited to LCDs or SPDs (Suspended Particle Devices). SPDs are adifferent material with almost instantaneous response but need a muchhigher potential to change state faster opto-electrical material. Inselecting the lens material, one should seek materials with shortertransition time. The optical transmission time of the lens materialshould be taken into account in optimizing the operation of theContinuing Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles with lenses inelectrochromic or electro-optical formulations. In the future, newelectro-optical materials will be discovered and may be advantageouslyused in the practice of this invention.

FIG. 49 4900 shows a typical operating characteristic curve 4910 of anelectrochromic material with output optical density 4903 (y-axis) as afunction of voltage 4901 (x-axis). An optical density of 0.3 correspondsto about 50% transmission of light (4923). An optical density of 0.6corresponds to about 25% transmission of light (4922). And an opticaldensity of 0.9 corresponds to about 12.5% transmission of light (4921).To get a specific desired optical density, one only need apply thecorrect voltage across the material. In this example, were the lenses ofthe 3Deeps Filter Spectacles made from such electrochromic material thenif the desired optical density were 50% transmission of light 4923, the3Deeps Filter Spectacle controller would cause 1 Volt 4934 to be appliedacross the electrochromic lenses. One volt 4934 intersect 4932 theoperating characteristic curve 4910 resulting in an optical density of0.3 (4903) that corresponds with 50% transmission of light 4923. FIG. 49is a typical operating characteristic curve. Depending on the chemicalformulation of the material the operating characteristic curves maydiffer.

Other embodiments may use more than one layer of material where eachmaterial can respond to controlling signals. For instance, one layer mayimpinge light over a restricted range of visible light and another layermay impinge light over a different range of visible light.

The operating characteristic curve of FIG. 49 will provide sufficientcontrol if the electrochromic lenses change state near instantaneously.But, many electrochromic materials do not respond instantaneously to anapplied potential and take a finite time to transition to the desiredoptical density state. Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectaclesneed also account for the transition time of the material from which thelenses are fabricated.

FIG. 50 shows 5000 a typical transition time curve 5003 for anelectrochromic material with transition time as a function of opticaldensity when a potential of 2.0V is applied to the electrochromicmaterial. It is for a ‘slow’ electrochromic material with transitiontime 5002 as a function of optical density 5001. This hypotheticalelectrochromic material has a ‘lightest’ state with an optical densityof 0.0, or clear, 5004 and its darkest state 5005 is an optical densityof 1.5 or dark. The material can take any optical density between 0.0and 1.5 by the application of 2V for the proper length of time. If thematerial has an optical density of 0.0 or clear 5004, and 2V potentialis applied to the material, it will take 2 seconds for the material tochange state and darken to a optical density of 1.5 (dark) 5005. This isshown on the transition time curve 5003.

As an example, if the material has an optical density of 0.3, and thecontrol signal 110 received on the frames receiving unit 102 indicatesthat the subject lens should change to an optical density of 0.6, thenthe transition time curve 5003 would be implemented by the control unit103 to apply 2V potential to the lens for 0.4 seconds. An opticaldensity 0.3 1610 intercepts the transition time curve 5003, at a point5011 on the curve corresponding to 0.4 seconds 5012. An optical density0.6 5020 intercepts the transition time curve 5003, at a point 5021 onthe curve corresponding to 0.8 seconds 5022. The absolute value of thedifference abs(0.8−0.4)=0.4 seconds then is the length of time that 2Vpotential needs to be applied to the lens to change its optical densityfrom 0.3 5010 to 0.6 5020. After that length of time has elapsed nopotential is applied since the electrochromic will ‘latch’ in the newstate.

This is an example of how an algorithm implemented in the Control Unit103 of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles would use thetransition time curve 5003 to control the right lens 105 and the leftlens 106. To transition a lens from and optical density of 0.3 to anoptical density of 0.6 the Control Unit would apply 2V potential to thelens for 400 msec.

This is a simplified example for illustrative and teaching purposes.Other electrochromic materials may have other operating characteristicsthat have characteristic exponential, negative exponential, or logistic(s-shaped) relationships. In this example, 2V potential is used to movebetween states. It is used under the assumptions that (a) for thiselectrochromic formulation the higher the electronic potential the morerapid will be the change from a lighter to a darker optical density, and(b) change of state from a lighter to a darker optical density is to beoptimized. Other materials may require different potentials to beapplied to move from between states. In any of these cases, theprinciple of operation is identical and the Control Unit 103 on theframes of the lenses uses the operating characteristics of the materialused in the right 105 and left 106 lenses to determine the potential andthe length of time the potential is to be applied to transition betweenlens control states.

In the example above, it took 400 msec (0.4 sec) for the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles to change from an optical density of0.3 and optical density of 0.6. That is in the length of time it willtake to change optical density, 48 frames of video will have been shown.The lenses are operating much slower than a digital TV with a refreshrate of 120 Hz (8.3 msec). This apparent problem is actually anadvantage. In this example, at each frame of video (every 8.3 msec), theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles are receiving new controlvalues. These advanced 3Deeps spectacles are then continuously moving totheir optimum value, and this has real advantages for 2D/3D viewing.

First, note that within a scene, motion will exhibit consistency, andthe target optical density will likely will not change very much.Consider a car speeding across through the scene; the luminosity and thespeed and direction of motion will stay at about the same value, so thecontrol and synchronization information for the lenses will be about thesame. In this example, while it will take 4 tenths of a second for thelenses to reach their target OD, and there will be 48 3Deeps lenscontrol values, corresponding and synchronized to the intervening 48frame of video, they will likely target about the same lens OD. Once thetarget is reached, successive lens setting will be similar and thus thelenses will quickly respond and conform to such values—often within the8.3 msec between successive frames of video. The lenses are thencontinuously moving towards the optimal value, and that has distinctviewing advantages over lenses that appear to instantaneously andabruptly change OD value at each frame. Also, since the Control Unit ofthe Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles transforms thecontrol signals for the specific lenses, the control signals will notcontain any 3Deeps spectacle specific information. Thus, 2 peoplewatching the same Sunday afternoon football game, but each wearingContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles (for instance made bydifferent vendors, or different models from the same vendor) that differonly by the operating characteristics of the electrochromic material,will each have optimal viewing from their specific 3Deeps spectacles.

In other embodiments the transmitted control and synchronizationinformation may be other than for every frame. This might be the casewith a different vendor TV. In this case no changes are necessary to theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, and they will continueto operate optimally for the combination of received control signals andelectrochromic materials. Consider again our 2 hypothetical viewersabove. Were they at half-time to move to another viewing venue, with adigital TV that has a refresh rate of 60 Hz and that only transmits3Deeps Filter Spectacle control information every other frame (30 timesa second), they would each still have optimal viewing for their specific3Deeps spectacles.

FIG. 49 shows an alternate means to transition from an optical densityof 0.3 to an optical density of 0.6 is to apply a potential of 1.18V.The target optical density 0.6 4942 intersects the operatingcharacteristic curve 4944 of the electrochromic material at a voltage of1.18V 4946. So applying a voltage of 1.18 Volts will transition the lensfrom an optical density of 0.3 to an optical density of 0.6. Thetransition time curve for a voltage of 1.18V is not shown, but would beused similarly to the transition time curve of FIG. 50 (that is for anapplied potential of 2.0V) to determine the length of time that 1.18V isto be applied to the lens. In general, any potential greater than 1.18Vand less than 2.0V will be applied for the proper transition time willserve to change the state of the lenses.

In one embodiment, to transition the lenses from an optical density of0.3 to 0.6 we use the transition time curve for an applied potential of2.0V, since we have assumed a lens material with the characteristic thatthe higher the applied potential the more rapid is the transition time.In the preferred embodiment, we seek to maximize transition time. Otherembodiments may maximize other characteristics of the electro-opticalmaterial.

FIG. 51 shows 5100 a typical transition time curve 5103 for anelectrochromic material with transition time as a function of opticaldensity when a negative potential of −2.0V is applied to theelectrochromic material (draining the lens material of potential). It isfor a ‘slow’ electrochromic material with transition time 5002 as afunction of optical density 5001. This hypothetical electrochromicmaterial has a ‘lightest’ state with an optical density of 0.0, orclear, 5004 and its darkest state 5005 is an optical density of 1.5 ordark. The material can take any optical density between 0.0 and 1.5 bythe application of −2V for the proper length of time. If the materialhas an optical density of 2.0 or dark 5006, and −2V potential is appliedto the material, it will take 2 seconds for the material to change stateand lighten to an optical density of 0 (dark) 5004. This is shown on thetransition time curve 5103.

As an example, if the material has an optical density of 0.6, and thecontrol signal 110 received on the frames receiving unit 102 indicatesthat the subject lens should change to an optical density of 0.3, thenthe transition time curve 5103 would be implemented by the control unit103 to apply −2V potential to the lens for 1.1 seconds. An opticaldensity 0.6 5120 intercepts the transition time curve 5103, at a point5121 on the curve corresponding to 1.35 seconds 5122. An optical density0.3 5110 intercepts the transition time curve 5103, at a point 5111 onthe curve corresponding to 0.25 seconds 5112. The absolute value of thedifference abs(1.35-0.25)=1.1 seconds then is the length of time that−2V potential needs to be applied to the lens to change its opticaldensity from 0.6 5120 to 0.3 5110. After that length of time has elapsedno potential is applied since the electrochromic will latch in the newstate.

This is an example of how an algorithm implemented in the Control Unit103 of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles would use thetransition time curve 5103 to control the right lens 105 and the leftlens 106. To transition a lens from and optical density of 0.36 to anoptical density of 0.3 the Control unit would apply −2V potential to thelens for 1.1 seconds.

In the general case, the relationship between optical density (x-axis)and transition time (y-axis) for any specific formulation ofelectro-optical material may be represented functionally by a responsesurface as y=f(x,v). The first derivative df(x,v)/dy provides thetransition time rate for any value of voltage V. To get the transitiontime for the material to change state and move from optical densityOD.sub.1 to OD.sub.2 by the application of a potential v to thematerial, the control unit 103 would evaluate to the integral:Min(response time)=min.intg..intg.df(x,v)dxdv over the range OD.sub.1 toOD.sub.2, and for all {v: −2v<v<+2}.

The representation of such response surfaces, and the evaluation ofintegrals by numerical or analytical methods are well known in the art,and any method may be used. In the preferred embodiment the optimizationis done to minimize the response time. However other embodiments mayoptimize on other characteristics of the material. For instance, the useof the maximum and minimum voltage to change state may have adetrimental effect on the life of the lenses. In such cases, boundaryconditions may limit the range of voltage to values that have a lesserimpact on lens life. For other materials in which battery life maydepend upon the applied transition voltage it may make sense to optimizeto get longer battery life. While the preferred embodiment optimizes tominimize response time for the lenses to change state, other embodimentsmay use the same principles to optimize on other characteristics of theelectro-optical material from which the lenses are fabricated. In anyembodiments however, a dual approach is used in which first the optimaloptical densities are calculated, and then the Control Unit 103 of theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 101 optimize those valuesto a characteristic(s) of material from which the lenses are fabricatedin order to control the spectacle lenses.

FIG. 52 is a block diagram 5200 showing the operation of the ControlUnit 103 for the preferred embodiment of the Continuous Adjustable3Deeps Filter Spectacles 101. The preferred embodiment useselectrochromic lenses that; (a) latch to state once the desired opticaldensity is reached, (b) have an operating characteristic curve as shownin FIG. 49, (c) have a transition time curve as shown in FIG. 50 for anapplied potential of 2.0V that provides the lenses with the most rapidchange from a lower to a higher optical density, and (d) have a thetransition time curve as shown in FIG. 51 for an applied potential of−2.0V that provides the lenses with the most rapid change from a higherto a lower optical density.

When the control unit is started 5201 it transitions to a SignalReceiving Unit Module 5203 and inputs the Next Frame Signal 5221. Thiswill have the Control Information 1300 for a single frame n 4820 andwill include the frame number 4801, optical density of the Left Lens4803, optical density of the right lens 4805, scalar value of the motionvector 4807, direction of the motion vector 4809, and Luminance 4811.After the information is received it is passed to the processing for theLeft Lens. First the Left Lens Potential is assigned in the Set LeftLens Potential Module 5205. In one embodiment we will use either a +2Vpotential if the change for the left lens is from a lower to higheroptical density, or −2V if the change is from a higher to a loweroptical density. The value is stored as the Left Potential 5222. Then inthe Calculate Left Lens Duration module 5207, we use the value of theoptical density of the Left Lens 4803 from the prior frame (n−1) and thevalue of the optical density of the Left Lens for the current frame, andthe appropriate transmission time curve to calculate and store the valueof the Left Duration 5223. If the change for the left lens is from alower to higher optical density then we use the Transmission Time curve5000 described in FIG. 50, and if the change for the left lens is fromhigher to a lower optical density then we use the Transmission Timecurve 5100 described in FIG. 51.

The Control Unit 103 then transitions to processing for the Right Lens.First the Right Len potential is calculated. The Right Lens Potential isassigned in the Set Right Lens Potential Module 5209. In one embodimentwe will use either a +2V potential if the change for the left lens isfrom a lower to higher optical density, or −2V if the change is from ahigher to a lower optical density. The value is stored as the RightPotential 5232. Then in the Calculate Right Lens Duration module 5211,we use the value of the optical density of the Right Lens 4805 from theprior frame (n−1) and the value of the optical density of the Right Lensfor the current frame, and the appropriate transmission time curve tocalculate and store the value of the Right Duration 5233. If the changefor the left lens is from a lower to higher optical density then we usethe Transmission Time curve 5000 described in FIG. 50, and if the changefor the left lens is from higher to a lower optical density then we usethe Transmission Time curve 5100 described in FIG. 51.

The Control Unit 103 then transitions to the Right Lens Control 5213 andcauses the circuitry to provide the Right Potential 5232 to the rightlens 105 for a duration equal to the value of Right Duration 5233. TheControl Unit 103 then transitions to the Left Lens Control 5215 andcauses the circuitry to provide the Left Potential 5222 to the left lens106 for a duration equal to the value of Left Duration 5223. The ControlUnit then transitions reads the Next Frame Signal 5221 and performs thesame processing for frame n+1 that it performed for frame n.

FIG. 53 is a block diagram 5300 showing the operation of a typical theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles system. This is thecomplete system. It follows the operation of the 2D/3D 3Deeps viewingsystems through three consecutive frames of video and shows theprocessing Video and 3Deeps Processing, display of the motion picture insynchronization with transmission of the Control Information for theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, and reception andcontrol of lenses.

The first column is labeled ‘Time’ and shows three consecutive frames ofvideo at time t.sub.n 5301, t.sub.n+1 5311, and t.sub.n+2 5321. As anexample, if the video is being shown at 60 Frame per second then thetime between each frame (e.g. t.sub.n+1−t.sub.n) is 16.667 msec. Firstconsider the processing of the frame n 5303 at time t.sub.n 5301. TheVideo Frame 5302 is read 5303 by the Video and 3Deeps Processing module5320. The Video processing format conversion is output 5304 anddisplayed as Display Frame 5305. In this teaching example, theVideo/3Deeps Processing consists only of de-interlacing so no new framesare created in the Display Video output stream. If the Video/3DeepsProcessing module also performed up-conversion (or down-conversion) thenthe number of output frames would increase (decrease). The Video and3Deeps Processing module has been previously described in FIG. 46 andFIG. 47. The Video/3Deeps Processing also calculates the ControlInformation 4800 described in FIG. 48. The control information istransmitted 4695 synchronous with the output display frames 5305. TheContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 101 receive the signal110 and the Control Unit 103 implements the electrochromic specificalgorithm to optimally control the Continuous Adjusting 3Deeps FilterSpectacles and generate the signal synchronous with motion picture toset the dark optical density of the right lens 5309 and the left lens toclear. The operation of the Control Unit 103 has been described in FIGS.3, 49, 50, 51, and 52.

Similarly is the processing of the next frame n+1 5312 at time t.sub.n+15311. The Video Frame 5312 is read 5313 by the Video and 3DeepsProcessing module 5320. The Video processing format conversion is output5314 and displayed as Display Frame 5315. The Video/3Deeps Processingcalculates the Control Information 4800 described in FIG. 48. Thecontrol information is transmitted 4695 synchronous with the outputdisplay frames 5315. The Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles101 receive the signal 110 and generate the signal to set the darkoptical density of the right lens 5319 and the left lens to clear. Inthis example the right lens 5319 associated with frame n+1 is a darkeroptical density than the right lens 5309 that is associated with framen.

Similarly is the processing of the next frame n+2 5322 at time t.sub.n+25321. The Video Frame 5322 is read 5323 by the Video and 3DeepsProcessing module 5320. The Video processing format conversion is output5324 and displayed as Display Frame 5325. The Video/3Deeps Processingcalculates the Control Information 4800 described in FIG. 48. Thecontrol information is transmitted 4695 synchronous with the outputdisplay frames 5325. The Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles101 receive the signal 110 and generate the signal to set the darkoptical density of the right lens 5329 and the left lens to clear. Inthis example the right lens 5329 associated with frame n+2 is an evendarker optical density than the right lens 5319 that is associated withframe n+1.

FIG. 54 5400 is a block diagram 5401 for a preferred embodiment of an ICChip generating optimum optical density signals for each individual lensof a Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacle 101. One embodimentof the chip is a self-contained optical density calculator thatcalculates and outputs the OD density values for the Right 5463 and Leftlenses 5464 of Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectaclessynchronized 5462 to the A/V 5461 of the motion picture. The chip 5401performs the calculations selectively based on the optimal OD algorithmsdescribed in FIG. 40 and FIG. 41, or selectively based on the optimal ODalgorithm described in FIG. 43. The chip has configurable Frame Searchparameters (parms) 5404 used to identify and determine the single motionvector (direction 5432 and velocity 5431) that characterizes lateralmotion in the frame of the motion picture as described in FIG. 41.Additionally, the preferred embodiment of the chip 5401 is configurablewith parameters necessary for the algorithmic calculations 5403 such asthe pixel resolution of the viewing screen.

Power 5485 is provided to the IC chip 5401. The chip has an input portfor the A/V Frame—In 5402 for the current frame of the motion picturecoupled to the output port of a frame register. The input frame signal5402 is passed unchanged through the chip 5401, and output on the A/VFrame-Out 5461 synchronized 5462 with the calculated output values ofthe Right Lens OD 5463 and the Left Lens OD 5464 of ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 101.

The chip has an input port 5407 to receive the Motion Vector Values ofthe current frame coupled to the output of a motion vector estimationmodule. As previously related, Video format conversion chips calculatemotion vector values to compensate for motion when de-interlacing andup-converting video, and the subject IC chip 5401 will often be coupledto such a format conversion chip. The chip 5401 also has an input portto receive the luminance values 5405 coupled to the output of aluminance determination module possibly as calculated by a video formatconversion chip. The Motion Vector values 5407 and Luminance values 5405are stored in Volatile memory 5412 contained on the chip. Otherembodiments of the chip 5401 may use off-chip memory for storage ofthese values.

The preferred embodiment of the chip 5401 has non-volatile memory 5410to store the Frame Search parameters 5404 of the algorithm implementedin the Lateral Motion Determining Unit 5420. The Frame Search parameters5404 have been previously described in FIG. 40 and FIG. 41, and are theregions of the current frame of the motion picture that delimits thesearch for lateral motion vector that characterizes motion in the frameof the motion picture. The parameters include the boundaries of theupper bounded region that is a surrogate for the background in the frameof the movie and the lower bounded region that is a surrogate for theforeground of the frame of movie. The input port for the Frame Searchparameters 5404 provides a means to input the Frame Search parameters,and the input includes a binary switch to control whether the chip willinput, store and use new values for the Frame Search parameters or usethe already stored values. In normal usage it would be unusual for theFrame Search parameters 5404 to be changed within any singlepresentation.

Also stored in the non-volatile memory 5410 are the parameters necessaryto compute the Optical Density Calculations. This includes (a) thethreshold values for determining whether lateral motion is present ornot (e.g. the −10 dpi and 10 dpi values 4150 of FIG. 41), (b) refreshrate of the viewing monitor (e.g. 60 Hz of FIG. 40), and (c) the pixelresolution of the viewing monitor (e.g. 100 dpi of FIG. 40). The inputport for the algorithm parameters 5403 provides a means to input thealgorithm parameters and includes a binary switch to control whether thechip will input, store and use new values for the algorithm or use thealready stored values. In normal usage the algorithm parametersprimarily characterize the viewing display (e.g. TV screen) and once setwill rarely change.

The Algorithm Select 5406 input allows the chip 5401 to configure itselfto use either the circuitry that performs the calculation described inFIG. 40 and FIG. 415441, or in FIG. 43 5442. The algorithm described inFIG. 40 and FIG. 41 requires as input the direction and velocity oflateral motion in the motion picture and the luminance in the frame ofthe motion picture, while the algorithm described in FIG. 43 requires asinput only the direction and luminance of the frame of the motionpicture, but not the velocity. In other embodiment the Algorithm Select5406 input may be stored in the non-volatile memory 5410 and then onlychanged as necessary.

The operation of the units of circuitry on the chip 5401 using theseinput values follows. The A/V Frame 5402 is input to the chip so thatthe Right 5463 and Left OD 5464 values calculated and output with theframe may be synchronized 2062 with the A/V output 5461. No calculationsor reformatting is performed on the A/V signal.

The Lateral Motion Determining Unit 5420 has circuitry to implement thepreviously described algorithm to determine the single most prominentmoving object in the background region of the frame and the single mostprominent object in the foreground region of the frame and then processthese identified values to calculate the direction and velocity thatcharacterizes lateral motion in the frame. Input to the Lateral MotionDetermining Unit 2020 is the Frame Search Parameters 5404 stored in thenon-volatile memory 5410, and the Motion Vector Values 5407 stored involatile memory 5412. The output is the calculated Velocity (Vel in dpiunits) 5431 and the direction of motion 5432 (die negative forright-to-left motion and positive for left-to-right motion). Thesevalues may be stored in volatile memory in some embodiments.

The Optical Density Calc Unit 5440 implements the Optical DensityCalculation to determine the setting of the lenses of the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 101. In one embodiment both of thealgorithms described in FIG. 40 and FIG. 415441, and in FIG. 43 5442 areimplemented within the unit's circuitry. The Algorithm Select input port5406 determines which of the calculation circuits is used. If theAlgorithm described in FIG. 40 and FIG. 41 5441 is used, then the valuesof Velocity 5431 (Vel) and Direction 5432 (Dir) of lateral motion areread from the output of the Lateral Motion Determining circuitry 5420.Also, the Luminance (Lum) 5433 value stored in volatile memory 5412 isread, along with the Algorithm parameters 5403 stored in Non Volatilememory 5410. With these input values the Optical Density Calc Unit 5440circuitry calculates the optimal optical values for the Right lens (ODR) 5451 and Left Len (OD L) 5452 and passes them to the Sync Unit 5450.If the Algorithm described in FIG. 43 5442 is used then the values ofDirection 5432 (Dir) of the lateral motion is read from the output ofthe Lateral Motion Determining circuitry 5420, the Luminance 5433 (Lum)value stored in volatile memory 5412 and the Algorithm parameters 5403stored in non-volatile memory 5410. With these input values the OpticalDensity Calc Unit 5440 circuitry calculates the optimal optical valuesfor the Right Lens (OD R) 5451 and the Left Len (OD L) 5452 and passesthem to the Sync Unit 5450.

The Sync Unit 5450 synchronizes the output of the Video Frame 5461 withthe output of the calculated values of the Right Lens OD 5463, and theLeft Lens OD 5464. Along with a sync signal 5462, the unit also outputsthe frame on the A/V Frame-Out 5461, and the calculated values of theOptical Density for the right lens (Right Lens OD) 5463 and the leftlens (Left Lens OD 5464).

While the Optical Density Calc Unit 5440 has circuitry to implement theOptical Density algorithms described in accompanying FIG. 40 and FIG.415441, and FIG. 43 5442, other embodiments may include other algorithmsto calculate the optical density of the Right 5463 and Left lenses 5464of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacle 101.

Also, while the Lateral Motion Determining Unit 5420 only uses theAlgorithm described in FIG. 40 and FIG. 41 to characterize the lateralmotion (direction and speed) in a frame of a motion picture, otherembodiments may alternatively use algorithms such as that described inFIG. 42 to characterize the lateral motion in a frame of a motionpicture.

The IC chip 5401 has separate outputs for the optimal Left Len OD 5463and Right Len OD 5464. Rather than use these values to controlContinuous Alternating 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, the values canalternatively be used to determine the frames of a dual image 3D viewingsystems as is also described below.

One embodiment of the chip has Input 5402 and Output 5461 ports for theA/V frame of the movie and the chip is able to synchronize 5462 theoutput frame with the output of the calculated value of the Right 5463and Left Len 5464 optical densities. Other embodiments may use othermeans to synchronize the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles101 to the frame of the motion picture without input of the pictureframe A/V Frame In 5402.

While FIG. 54 shows the Calculation of the Optimum Optical DensitySignals for Each Individual Lens Of A Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles 101 embodied as a chip coupled with other chips suchas video format conversion chips, the circuitry could have been includedwithin the circuitry of such a chip. Also the circuitry of FIG. 54 mayconnect to other IC chips on an IC board.

FIG. 55 5500 is a block diagram 5501 of an alternate embodiment of an ICchip 5501 generating the change in optical density signals 5540 for eachindividual lens of a Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacle 101.This alternate embodiment of an IC chip 5501 implements the opticaldensity calculation algorithm of FIG. 43 5531, and has the benefits that(1) it only requires direction and not speed of lateral motion, and (2)it can be implemented directly on the a Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacle 101 using a photodiode 4420 to provide a measure ofluminance. Power 5485 is provided to the IC chip 5501. Since thealgorithm of FIG. 43 requires the refresh rate and pixel resolution ofthe viewing monitor, these values are provided through the circuitry ofthe Algorithm Parms 5403 and stored in non-volatile memory 5510. Onceupdated, there is no necessity to refresh the values until there is achange of viewing monitor. A chip on the projection or viewing devicesuch as a video format chip calculates and provides the Direction Values5505, and the Luminance Values 5405. Note that the speed of lateralmotion is not required for the algorithm described in FIG. 43, and isnot input.

The Direction Value 5505, and the Luminance Values 5405 are read andstored in volatile memory 5520. In this embodiment, rather thancalculate and output values for the Left Lens OD and the Right Lens OD,only a single Delta Difference value 5540 is calculated and output. Thiswill allow the alternate embodiment chip to have fewer output legs andthus a smaller package with lessened power requirements. To indicatewhether the Delta change is to be applied to the Left lens, or the RightLens, a Lens Change Indicator 5542 is also output. If the Value of theLens Change Indicator is 0 then both lenses are set back to a defaultclear state. If the Value of the Lens change Indicator is 1 then onlythe Left Lens is affected and it is set from its last state(OD.sub.Last) to a new state (OD.sub.current) by adding the Delta LensChange value 5540 (a value of OD.sub.current−OD.sub.Last) to the lastvalue of the Left Lens (OD.sub.Last). If the Value of the Lens changeIndicator is 2 then only the Right Lens is affected and it is set fromits last state (OD.sub.Last) to a new state (OD.sub.current) by addingthe Delta Lens Change value 5540 (a value of OD.sub.current−OD.sub.Last)to the last value of the Right Lens (OD.sub.Last).

The Value of Delta Change Lens OD 5540 and the Lens Change Indicator5542 are calculated by the Optical Density Calc Unit 5530 thatimplements the Algorithm of FIG. 43 5531. It reads the algorithmparameters 5403 stored in non-volatile Memory 5510, the Direction Value5505 stored in volatile memory 5522, and the Luminance Value 5405 storedvolatile memory 5521. The Unit 5530 performs the calculations and storesthe Calculated OD values in volatile memory as OD Current 5523, keepingtrack of the last calculated OD values. The Unit 5530 output the DeltaLen OD 5540 and the Lens Change Indicator 5542 as previously described.

FIG. 56 5600 shows Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 101that include an IC chip 5501 generating the change in optical densitysignals for each individual lens of a Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacle. It shows the same perspective view of ContinuousAlternating 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 101 shown in FIG. 44, but with theaddition of the IC Chip 5501 of FIG. 55 and a connector 5502 between theIC Chip 5501 and the Control Unit 103. The receiver 102 labeled Rx iscoupled to the IC chip 5501. The receiver 102 outputs the Algorithmparameters 5403, and the direction value 5505 to the IC chip 5501 thatperforms the calculations and outputs the Delta change (A Lens OD) 5540to the IC chip 5501 (labeled ODIC), along with a Lens Change Indicator5542 as to whether it is the Right Lens 105 or the Left Lens 106 of theContinuous Alternating 3Deeps Filter Spectacles 101 that is to be changeto a new state. The Control Unit 103 and the IC Chip 5501 are connected5602, that is used to output the calculations from the IC chip 5501 tothe Control Unit 103. The IC chip 5501 performs the calculations asdescribed in FIG. 55. The advantage of this embodiment, as previouslyindicated, is that the Luminous Reading from the Photodiode, can be usedfor the calculations, and since the photodiode 4420 is on the frame ofthe spectacles, it will have the best surrogate value for luminancereaching the frames of the spectacles.

Other Embodiments

Other embodiments may develop other means to optimally set thetransmissivity of the neutral density filter lens. For instance forspecial venues it may be desirable to have lenses that optimize thedarker and lighter filters for different light wavelengths.

Also, other factors, not part of the retinal reaction curve may beconsidered to compute an optimal value of the neutral density filter. Inthe teaching example of the preferred embodiment, luminance is the onlyfactor determining the retinal reaction time. However, research hasfound other less important factors that affect retinal reaction timeincluding, but not limited to, prolonged readiness, certain commondrugs, temperature, and sleep conditions. Knowledge of factors may beadvantageously used. Alternately, the Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles may have controls allowing customization of valuesused by the algorithms such as thresholds, parameters of the retinalreaction curve, etc, so that the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles may be customized to individual use.

While one above-described embodiment uses a fixed distance of 2½ inchesto lag the delayed image, other embodiments may preferably use otherfixed distances. Specifically and advantageously some alternateembodiments may also use the distance between the viewer and the viewingdevice—that is a preferred distance from the screen. Rather than theexact distance, surrogate distances may be employed. For instance forviewing with an IPOD like personal movie device a distance of about 1foot may be used. When Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter spectaclesare used with a personal computer or a personal DVD player, a distanceof 1½ feet between the viewer and display screen may be assumed. Whenviewing on a large-screen digital or projection TV, a distance based onthe size of the display monitor may be used. In a movie theater venuethe distance may be set to 50 feet.

The above-described embodiments are for teaching purposes. Other moresophisticated algorithms may be used to calculate the setting of thefilter lens. These algorithms may not only have speed of motion,direction or motion, and luminance as input parameters, but may alsoallow for input of other values, or for the setting of constants such asinter-ocular distance, in their calculations.

Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles can benefit from theinclusion of controls that would allow the viewer to customize the specsto individual differences. For instance, while the average inter-oculardistance is 2.5 inches, there is a lot of variation between individualsin this value. Alternate embodiments of Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles can beneficially account for individual differences byallowing customized control for this value, either through a physicalthumbwheel type setting, or input parameters to the 3Deeps FilterSpectacles controller. For instance, there may be a 3-position manuallycontrolled switch that allows the viewer to change the inter-oculardistance used in the lens calculations to 2¼ inches (small), 2½ inches(average), or 2¾ inches (large). In other embodiments, a computerconnects to a master computing appliance to set the ContinuousAdjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacle customization parameters.

In another alternate embodiment, it has been shown that the degree ofthe depth effect of the Pulfrich illusion is due to the difference inretinal reaction time between the two eyes. That means that there areinnumerable settings of the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacle lenses that will provide the same depth illusion. For instanceFIG. 40 shows an optimal setting of the lenses has one lens clear with aretinal reaction time of 120 msec (input luminance of 0.52) and theneutral lens is chosen with an optical density producing a luminance of−0.6 so the difference in retinal reaction time is 42 msec or 162 msec.Another setting with the same depth perception is if the 0.42 msecretinal reaction time difference is from one lens that is darkened sothat the eye receive a luminance of 0.0 corresponding to a retinalreaction time of 150 msec and the other eye has a retinal reaction timeof 192 msec (150+42=192 msec), that corresponds to a lens with opticaldensity so the eye receives −0.95 on the luminance scale. The first caseis optimal in that we have a clear and dark lens and the eyes receivethe maximum amount of light for the desired depth effect. In the secondcase both lenses obstruct light, though the clear lens obstructs lesslight than the darker lens. In some instances however, this approach maybe beneficial, as for example, to better control the response time ofthe lenses.

While some electro-optical materials change state seeminglyinstantaneously (e.g. LCD materials), other materials may have a slowresponse time. In these cases the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps FilterSpectacles may be more responsive by taking lens states that have thedesired difference in retinal illumination for the two eyes, but may usea gray clear state that is lighter than the darker lens in order toachieve a threshold responsiveness when the lenses change state. Thatis, if achieving the clearest state takes too long, it may be preferableto have more responsive Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacleswith a clear lens that obstructs some light, and a dark lens chosen toprovide the desired difference in retinal reaction time.

In another embodiment, rather than fix the distance d between an objectin different frames on the screen, it may be desirable to choose anoptical density so the degree of depth illusion remains a constantthroughout all frames of the movie that exhibit motion.

In another embodiment, the motion vectors of multiple objects are usedto provide an estimate of parallax that is then used to select criteriafor the optimization of the optical density of the neutral density lens.

In other embodiments, the viewer may control the degree of darkeningallowed. For instance, rather slow movement from left-to-right mayrequire that the neutral density filter be considerably darkened. Forsome viewers this may be problematical or undesirable and for suchviewers allowing them a degree of control over the darkening of thelenses is reasonable. One such control would allow the user to specifyan upper limit on the degree of darkening allowed, with exemplaryoptions allowing 5 settings corresponding to a maximum darkening of 50%,60%, 70%, 80% and 90%.

Any of the algorithmic embodiments may also include the judicious use ofheuristics to achieve a best 3D presentation for the viewer. Forinstance, in a darkened theater and with a dark scene exhibiting motion,the optimal setting for the neutral density lens may take a value thatis deemed either too dark for the best 3D presentation for the viewer.Or, the optimal setting for the neutral density lens may take a valuethat is deemed to take too long to transition to such a dark state forthe best 3D presentation. In either of these cases threshold values maybe incorporated to override the optimal settings so that the neutraldensity filter cannot take values outside a specific range. These areexemplary and other heuristics may be incorporated for beneficialpurposes.

Heuristics may also be required to address other issues. For instance,it has been observed that the Pulfrich illusion will turn off whenlateral motion is too fast. This phenomenon is not entirely understood,but to address it a heuristic rule may be used in any of the algorithmsthat determine the optical density of the neutral density filter so thatwhen the lateral motion is too fast the Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles take their clear-clear state. This is exemplary andother heuristics may be incorporated for beneficial purposes. We notethat cinematographers have long recognized that action that is too fastdoes not record well, and so movies generally will not exhibit thisproblem.

Some embodiments provide an example for when such heuristics may beused. The goal of such embodiments is to provide constant depthperception that is normal in the sense that it is in accordance with anindividual's normal inter-ocular distance. As previously described thisis achieved by optimally controlling the optical density of the neutraldensity filter.

However, if the viewer is in a darkened venue, viewing a darkened movieand/or lateral screen motion is too slow, it may not be possible tomaintain this constant depth perception and heuristic rules may be usedto slowly degrade the degree of depth perceived. As noted before, fewobservers will notice this anymore than they are bothered by the spatialchanges resulting from use of telephoto or wide-angle lens in filmingscenes.

In still another embodiment, the algorithm to calculate the opticaldensity to optimize the single image 3Deeps Filter Spectacles may beadvantageously used in a dual image system. Dual image systems requiretwo images (or frames) for each frame of a traditional movie. One of thetwo images is a left eye image and the other is a right eye image. Dualimage systems have twice as many frames of video as in a single imagesystem, require special format, projectors, and except in the case oflenticular viewing screens, special viewing devices.

Using the preferred embodiment of this invention, based on luminosityand direction and speed of motion, we have described how to determinethe optimal optical density of a neutral density filter. Rather than usethis calculation to control and synchronize Continuous Adjustable 3DeepsFilter Spectacles, we can use the value to generate a second frame ofvideo for a dual image systems. For clarity the result of thecalculation is referred to as OD-optimal and has a value that providesthe optimal optical density of the neutral density filter of theContinuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles.

In this dual image system embodiment, rather than use the OD-optimalvalue for the Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filter Spectacles, the resultis used to generate a second frame of a dual image 3D motion picture. Ifthe result of the algorithm is that there is no lateral movement in thesingle frame of the motion picture, then the frame image is duplicatedresulting in two frame images, and the frame images is then used as boththe right eye image and the left eye image. If the result of thealgorithm is that the direction of lateral motion is left to right, thenthe second frame will be duplicated but with the added shading ofOD-optimal. The duplicated shaded image will be used as the right eyeimage, and the unchanged frame used as the left eye image. If the resultof the algorithm is that the direction of lateral motion is right toleft, then the second frame will be duplicated but with the addedshading of OD-optimal. The duplicated shaded image will be used as theleft eye image, and the unchanged frame used as the right eye image.

Since this alternate embodiment is for a dual image system, the righteye image and the left eye image must be directed to the appropriateeye, and this can be done using any of the dual image viewing systemsincluding shutter glasses, head mounted displays, Polaroid or lenticularscreens. Since this embodiment is for a dual image system it cannot beused if the viewer is wearing Continuous Adjustable 3Deeps Filterspectacles.

Some 3D viewing systems have darkened lenses and so the calculation ofOD-optimal will be slightly different for such systems. While lenticularand head mounted displays will work as previously described, shutterglass and polaroid 3D viewing systems have darkened lenses, and thisadditional reduction in luminosity must be accounted for in the input tothe algorithm.

In still another embodiment, 3D Viewing spectacles are manufactured thatmay be switched between electronic (1) single image ContinuousAlternating 3Deeps Viewing Spectacles, and (2) dual image viewingspectacles. As an example consider an anaglyph dual image system, andtwo electrochromic materials, one that is either clear or darkens tored, and another that is either clear or darkens to blue. Such materialscan be used to build electronically operated anaglyph spectacles. If theContinuous Alternating 3Deeps Viewing Spectacles are manufactured with asecond layer of such color changing electrochromic materials then thespectacles may be switched to operate as either Continuous Alternating3Deeps Viewing Spectacles or anaglyph 3D viewing spectacles. In yetanother embodiment, a connector for earphones is included on theContinuous Alternating 3Deeps Viewing Spectacles allowing an audiosignal to be played through earphones.

Embodiments of the invention may implement the Video and 3DeepsProcessing directly on a video format conversion semiconductor chip.Alternatively the output from such a video format conversionsemiconductor may be used as input to a semiconductor chip dedicated tothe Video and 3Deeps Processing. Also the dual image alternateembodiment can similarly use the video image processing of a videoconversion chip described in such embodiments to generate the valueOD-optimal to generate the second image for this dual image embodiment,and assign the image to the correct eye.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method of displaying one ormore frames of a video is provided. Data representing an image frame isobtained. A plurality of bridge frames that are visually dissimilar tothe image frame are generated. The image frame and the plurality ofbridge frames are blended, generating a plurality of blended frames, andthe plurality of blended frames are displayed. In one embodiment, theplurality of bridge frames are also different from each other.

FIG. 57 shows a video display manager that may be used to implementcertain embodiments in accordance with an embodiment. Video displaymanager 5700 comprises a processor 5710, a bridge frame generator 5730,a frame display module 5750, and a storage 5740.

FIG. 58 is a flowchart of a method of displaying one or more imageframes in accordance with an embodiment. In an illustrative embodiment,a video file 47000 is stored in storage 5740. Video file 47000 may begenerated by video display manager 5700 or, alternatively, received fromanother device or via a network such as the Internet.

At step 5810, data comprising an image frame is received. In theillustrative embodiment, processor 5710 retrieves video file 47000 fromstorage 5740. FIG. 33 shows an image frame 3350 showing a man against abackground of clouds and sky.

At step 5820, a plurality of bridge frames that are visually dissimilarto the image frame are generated. Bridge frame generator 5730 generatestwo or more bridge frames that are dissimilar from image frame 3350. Inone embodiment, the two bridge frames are also different from eachother. FIGS. 34A and 34B show two bridge frames 3410 and 3420 that maybe generated. In the illustrative embodiment, bridge frame 3410 has afirst pattern and a bridge frame 3420 has a second pattern that isdifferent from and complementary to the first pattern of bridge frame3410. In other embodiments, bridge frames may be retrieved from astorage.

At step 5830, the image frame and the plurality of bridge frames areblended, generating a plurality of blended frames. In the illustrativeembodiment, frame display module 5750 blends image frame 3350 and bridgeframe 3410 to generate blended frame 3510, shown in FIG. 35A. Framedisplay module 5750 also blends image frame 3350 and bridge frame 3420to generate blended frame 3520, shown in FIG. 35B.

At step 5840, the plurality of blended frames are displayed. Framedisplay module 5750 now displays blended frames 3510 and 3520 in amanner similar to that described above. For example, blended frames 3510and 3520 may be displayed in accordance with a predetermined pattern,for example. In an embodiment illustrated in FIG. 35C, blended frames3510, 3520 are displayed consecutively in a predetermined pattern.

In other embodiments, blended frames 3510 may be displayed in a patternthat includes a plurality of blended frames and image frame 3350, or ina pattern that includes other bridge frames.

In accordance with another embodiment, a plurality of blended frames maybe displayed in accordance with a predetermined pattern that includes afirst pattern comprising the plurality of blended frames, and a secondpattern that includes repetition of the first pattern. In an embodimentillustrated in FIG. 35D, blended frames 3510 and 3520 are displayed in arepeating pattern that includes blended frame 3510, blended frame 3520,and abridge frame 3590.

Systems and methods described herein may be used advantageously toprovide particular benefits. For example, in accordance with oneembodiment, a method for generating modified video is provided. FIGS.59A-59B comprise a flowchart of a method in accordance with anembodiment. At step 5910, a source video comprising a sequence of 2Dimage frames is acquired. At step 5920, a value for an inter-oculardistance of a viewer is determined. At step 5930, an image frame isobtained from the source video that includes two or more motion vectorsthat describe motion in the image frame where each of the motion vectorsis associated with a region of the image frame. At step 5940, a singleparameter is calculated for each of the following: a lateral speed ofthe image frame, using the two or more motion vectors, and a directionof motion of the image frame, using the two or more motion vectors. Atstep 5950, a deformation value is generated by applying an algorithmthat uses the inter-ocular distance and both of the parameters. At step5960, the deformation value is applied to the image frame to identify amodified image frame. At step 5970, the modified image frame is blendedwith a first bridge frame that is different from the modified imageframe to generate a first blended frame. At step 5980, the modifiedimage frame is blended with a second bridge frame that is different fromthe modified image frame and different from the first bridge frame togenerate a second blended frame. At step 5990, the first blended frameand the second blended frame are displayed to the viewer. The directionof motion and velocity of motion parameters in the calculation step arecalculated only from the motion vectors input along with the imageframe.

In one embodiment, the viewer views the modified video throughspectacles.

In another embodiment, the spectacles have a left and right lens, andeach of the left and right lens has a darkened state. In anotherembodiment, each of the left and right lenses has a darkened state and alight state, the state of the left lens being independent of the stateof the right lens.

In another embodiment, the spectacles further comprise a battery, acontrol unit and a signal receiving unit. The control unit is adapted tocontrol the state of the each of the lenses independently.

In another embodiment, the left and right lenses comprise one or moreelectro-optical materials.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method for generating modifiedvideo is provided. A source video comprising a sequence of 2D imageframes is acquired. A value for an inter-ocular distance of a viewer andfactors for a display resolution and a video frame speed are determined.An image frame is obtained from the source video that includes two ormore motion vectors that describe motion in the image frame where eachof the motion vectors is associated with a region of the image frame. Asingle parameter is calculated for each of the following: a lateralspeed of the image frame, using the two or more motion vectors, and adirection of motion of the image frame, using the two or more motionvectors. A deformation value is generated by applying an algorithm thatuses the inter-ocular distance, both of the factors, and both of theparameters, and the deformation value is applied to the image frame toidentify a first modified image frame, the first modified image framebeing different from any of the sequence of 2D image frames. A secondmodified image frame is identified based on the first modified imageframe, and the second modified image frame is displayed to the viewer.The direction of motion and velocity of motion parameters in thecalculation step are calculated only from the motion vectors input alongwith the image frame.

In accordance with another embodiment, a system comprises at least oneprocessor for generating modified video, the processor adapted toacquire a source video comprising a sequence of 2D image frames,determine a value for an inter-ocular distance of a viewer, obtain animage frame from the source video that includes two or more motionvectors that describe motion in the image frame where each of the motionvectors is associated with a region of the image frame, and calculate asingle parameter for each of the following: a lateral speed of the imageframe, using the two or more motion vectors, and a direction of motionof the image frame, using the two or more motion vectors. The at leastone processor is further adapted to generate a deformation value byapplying an algorithm that uses the inter-ocular distance and both ofthe parameters, apply the deformation value to the image frame toidentify a modified image frame, blend the modified image frame with afirst bridge frame that is different from the modified image frame togenerate a first blended frame, blend the modified image frame with asecond bridge frame that is different from the modified image frame anddifferent from the first bridge frame to generate a second blendedframe, and display the first blended frame and the second blended frameto a viewer. The direction of motion and velocity of motion parametersin the calculation step are calculated only from the motion vectorsinput along with the image frame. The system also includes spectaclesfor viewing the modified video, the spectacles comprising a left andright lens, each of the lenses having a dark state and a light state,and a control unit adapted to control the state of the each of thelenses independently.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method of displaying videocontent to a viewer, comprises: obtaining source video content comprisedof 2D frames of video; transmitting the source video to a receiver;analyzing the 2D frames of the source video content to measureparameters for direction of motion, velocity of motion and luminance;calculating a deformation value using an algorithm that uses at leasttwo of the measured parameters in combination with values for displayresolution and video frame speed; processing the source video contentusing the deformation value; and displaying the processed video contentto a viewer. The method may include, wherein the direction of motion andvelocity of motion parameters in the analysis step are calculated onlyfrom motion vectors in the source video content. The method may include,wherein the luminance parameter in the analysis step is calculated onlyfrom luminance values in the source video content. The method mayinclude, wherein the processed video content in the displaying step ispresented to a viewer through spectacles.

In accordance with another embodiment, a system for displaying modifiedvideo content to a viewer, comprises: a receiver which receives a 2Dvideo signal comprised of 2D frames; a video signal processor whichprocesses the 2D video signal; and a display unit which displays theprocessed video signal to a user; wherein the processing step comprisesusing an algorithm to calculate parameters for direction of motion,velocity of motion and luminance for the 2D frames in said 2D videosignal; calculating a deformation value using at least two of saidcalculated parameters in combination with values for display resolutionand video frame speed; and modifying the 2D video signal using thedeformation value.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method of displaying videocontent to a viewer, comprises: obtaining a source video signalcomprised of 2D frames; analyzing 2D frames from said source videosignal to measure direction of motion, velocity of motion and luminanceparameters; calculating a deformation value using an algorithm thatincludes at least two of said measured parameters in combination withvalues for display resolution and video frame speed; processing thevideo source signal using the deformation value; and displaying theprocessed video signal to a viewer. A method according to item 6,wherein the direction of motion and velocity of motion parameters in theanalysis step are calculated only from motion vectors in the sourcevideo content. The method may include, wherein the luminance parameterin the analysis step is calculated only from luminance values in thesource video content. The method may include, wherein in the processedvideo content in the displaying step is presented to a viewer throughspectacles.

In accordance with another embodiment, a display apparatus comprises: areceiver which receives a source video signal comprised of 2D frames; avideo signal processor which processes the source video signal; and adisplay unit which displays the processed video signal to a user;wherein said processing step comprises analyzing 2D frames from thevideo signal to measure direction of motion, velocity of motion andluminance parameters; and calculating a deformation value using analgorithm that includes at least two of the measured parameters incombination with values for display resolution and video frame speed.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method for generating modifiedvideo, comprises: acquiring a source video comprised of a sequence of 2Dframes; calculating parameters for direction of motion, velocity ofmotion and luminance of the source video; determining factors fordisplay resolution and video frame speed; generating a deformation valueby applying an algorithm that uses at least two of the parameters andboth of the factors; applying the deformation value to the source videoto produce a modified video; and displaying the modified video to aviewer. The method may include, wherein the direction of motion andvelocity of motion parameters in the calculation step are calculatedonly from motion vectors in said source video. The method may include,wherein the luminance parameter in the calculation step is calculatedonly from luminance values in the source video. The method may include,wherein in the modified video in the displaying step is presented to aviewer through spectacles.

In accordance with another embodiment, an apparatus which transforms a2D source video signal, comprises: a video processing means forperforming the transformation on the 2D source video signal; and adisplay means for displaying the transformed video to a viewer; whereinthe transformation comprises analyzing the source video signal togenerate parameters for direction of motion, velocity of motion andluminance; calculating a deformation value using an algorithm thatincludes at least two of the parameters in combination with factors forboth display resolution and video frame speed; modifying the sourcevideo signal using the deformation value; and outputting the transformedvideo to the display means.

In accordance with another embodiment, a method for generating modifiedvideo is provided. A source video comprising a sequence of 2D imageframes is acquired, a value for an inter-ocular distance of a viewer isdetermined, and an image frame is obtained from the source video thatincludes two or more motion vectors that describe motion in the imageframe where each of the motion vectors is associated with a region ofthe image frame. A single parameter is calculated for each of thefollowing: a lateral speed of the image frame, using the two or moremotion vectors, and a direction of motion of the image frame, using thetwo or more motion vectors. A deformation value is generated by applyingan algorithm that uses the inter-ocular distance and both of theparameters, and the deformation value is applied to the image frame toidentify a modified image frame. The modified image frame is blendedwith a first bridge frame that is different from the modified imageframe to generate a first blended frame, and the modified image frame isblended with a second bridge frame that is different from the modifiedimage frame and different from the first bridge frame to generate asecond blended frame. The first blended frame and the second blendedframe are displayed to a viewer. The direction of motion and velocity ofmotion parameters in the calculation step are calculated only from themotion vectors input along with the image frame.

In various embodiments, the method steps described herein, including themethod steps described in FIG. 58, may be performed in an orderdifferent from the particular order described or shown. In otherembodiments, other steps may be provided, or steps may be eliminated,from the described methods.

Systems, apparatus, and methods described herein may be implementedusing digital circuitry, or using one or more computers using well-knowncomputer processors, memory units, storage devices, computer software,and other components. Typically, a computer includes a processor forexecuting instructions and one or more memories for storing instructionsand data. A computer may also include, or be coupled to, one or moremass storage devices, such as one or more magnetic disks, internal harddisks and removable disks, magneto-optical disks, optical disks, etc.

Systems, apparatus, and methods described herein may be implementedusing computers operating in a client-server relationship. Typically, insuch a system, the client computers are located remotely from the servercomputer and interact via a network. The client-server relationship maybe defined and controlled by computer programs running on the respectiveclient and server computers.

Systems, apparatus, and methods described herein may be used within anetwork-based cloud computing system. In such a network-based cloudcomputing system, a server or another processor that is connected to anetwork communicates with one or more client computers via a network. Aclient computer may communicate with the server via a network browserapplication residing and operating on the client computer, for example.A client computer may store data on the server and access the data viathe network. A client computer may transmit requests for data, orrequests for online services, to the server via the network. The servermay perform requested services and provide data to the clientcomputer(s). The server may also transmit data adapted to cause a clientcomputer to perform a specified function, e.g., to perform acalculation, to display specified data on a screen, etc.

Systems, apparatus, and methods described herein may be implementedusing a computer program product tangibly embodied in an informationcarrier, e.g., in a non-transitory machine-readable storage device, forexecution by a programmable processor; and the method steps describedherein, including one or more of the steps of FIG. 58, may beimplemented using one or more computer programs that are executable bysuch a processor. A computer program is a set of computer programinstructions that can be used, directly or indirectly, in a computer toperform a certain activity or bring about a certain result. A computerprogram can be written in any form of programming language, includingcompiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form,including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component,subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment.

A high-level block diagram of an exemplary computer that may be used toimplement systems, apparatus and methods described herein is illustratedin FIG. 36. Computer 3600 includes a processor 3601 operatively coupledto a data storage device 3602 and a memory 3603. Processor 3601 controlsthe overall operation of computer 3600 by executing computer programinstructions that define such operations. The computer programinstructions may be stored in data storage device 3602, or othercomputer readable medium, and loaded into memory 3603 when execution ofthe computer program instructions is desired. Thus, the method steps ofFIG. 58 can be defined by the computer program instructions stored inmemory 3603 and/or data storage device 3602 and controlled by theprocessor 3601 executing the computer program instructions. For example,the computer program instructions can be implemented as computerexecutable code programmed by one skilled in the art to perform analgorithm defined by the method steps of FIG. 58. Accordingly, byexecuting the computer program instructions, the processor 3601 executesan algorithm defined by the method steps of FIG. 58. Computer 3600 alsoincludes one or more network interfaces 3604 for communicating withother devices via a network. Computer 3600 also includes one or moreinput/output devices 3605 that enable user interaction with computer3600 (e.g., display, keyboard, mouse, speakers, buttons, etc.).

Any or all of the systems and apparatus discussed herein, includingvideo display manager 5700, and components thereof, may be implementedusing a computer such as computer 3600.

One skilled in the art will recognize that an implementation of anactual computer or computer system may have other structures and maycontain other components as well, and that FIG. 36 is a high-levelrepresentation of some of the components of such a computer forillustrative purposes.

While preferred and alternate embodiments of the invention have beendescribed and illustrated, it should be apparent that many modificationsto the embodiments and implementations of the invention could be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. In variousembodiments, methods, apparatus and systems are provided as describedbelow.

The foregoing Detailed Description is to be understood as being in everyrespect illustrative and exemplary, but not restrictive, and the scopeof the invention disclosed herein is not to be determined from theDetailed Description, but rather from the claims as interpretedaccording to the full breadth permitted by the patent laws. It is to beunderstood that the embodiments shown and described herein are onlyillustrative of the principles of the present invention and that variousmodifications may be implemented by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the invention. Those skilled inthe art could implement various other feature combinations withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus adapted to: obtain a first imagefrom a first video stream; obtain a second image from a second videostream, wherein the first image is different from the second image;stitch together the first image and the second image to generate astitched image frame; generate a first modified image frame by removinga first portion of the stitched image frame; generate a second modifiedimage frame by removing a second portion of the stitched image frame;generate a third modified image frame by removing a third portion of thestitched image frame; wherein the first modified image frame, the secondmodified image frame, and the third modified image frame are differentfrom each other; identify a bridge frame that is a non-solid color;blend the first modified image frame with the bridge frame to generate afirst blended frame; blend the second modified image frame with thebridge frame to generate a second blended frame; blend the thirdmodified image frame with the bridge frame to generate a third blendedframe; display the first blended frame, the second blended frame, andthe third blended frame.
 2. An apparatus adapted to: obtain a firstimage from a first video stream; obtain a second image from a secondvideo stream, wherein the first image is different from the secondimage; insert into the first image the second image to generate ainserted image frame; generate a first modified image frame by removinga first portion of the inserted image frame; generate a second modifiedimage frame by removing a second portion of the inserted image frame;generate a third modified image frame by removing a third portion of theinserted image frame; wherein the first modified image frame, the secondmodified image frame, and the third modified image frame are differentfrom each other; identify a bridge frame that is a non-solid color;blend the first modified image frame with the bridge frame to generate afirst blended frame; blend the second modified image frame with thebridge frame to generate a second blended frame; blend the thirdmodified image frame with the bridge frame to generate a third blendedframe; display the first blended frame, the second blended frame, andthe third blended frame.